Good-Bye My Lily Love

Yesterday Mircea and I had the unpleasant task of making the decision to put Lily down. When we got back from the trip, Lily greeted us happily, and she and I spent that whole night with cuddles, loving and kisses. The next morning she was downstairs and she didn't move from her spot all day, and I encouraged her to drink water, but she only sat there, occasionally crying out and then getting sick. After we picked Yukon up from the vet yesterday, we returned with Lily to have her examined. Dr. Edwards (our beloved vet at Solomon's Vet-we'll pay the premium price for her) told me we had to get Lily in the oxygen tank immediatly and we did some x-rays to find that my little girl had a mass on her lung and that her trachea was curved. Our options were very limited, and didn't give us a good chance to do anything but stress her further. We made the choice to set Lily free from her struggles and held and comforted her as Dr. Edwards did her selfless task.

Lily was a special girl, and anyone who hugged that little calico body knew she was a cut above. I was one of the late-bloomers on that love for her...until this last October when she comforted me through my recovery, she was always "my mother's cat" first and mine second. But she was my best little friend. I cried into her fur when my mom died, I cried into her fur when my dad remarried, through breakups, falling in love, losing loved ones, etc. Lily Bear was my silky girl who always had enough love in her heart no matter how she was feeling. From the days of the skinny stray that deposited kittens under our porch and filled the void for my mother when I left for college, to the little baby who held out the two weeks while Mircea and I were gone so that she could give us a proper goodbye, Lily was the perfect cat. Sure, she thought the shortest distance between two places was across a set of testicles, and she taught little Fernie to scoot her booty on the floor after going No. 2, but she was a doll. No one will ever take her place in my heart.

I'm comforted in knowing that she is with my Mom now, her first Mommy, and that they are both together again, cat in lap, happy human illiciting that Harley-Davidson purr.

I miss you Lily. I thank you for all you gave me - you were far more than "just a cat".

My Poor Lily-Monster (sort of a pathetic rant)

It's funny how life works out-Lily was never my favorite cat. She was my Mom's cat, her best friend, her favorite "daughter". When my mom died I couldn't bear to part with Lily so I brought her to live with me and Courtney at Purdue and she and Fernie instantly became enemies. They only band together in the dislike of others, and while they do give each other baths, it always ends in a fight. But after being bedridden with my knee surgery, Lily was by my side every second of the day, keeping me company and actually licking my tears of frustration. She and I are wildly in love these days, and I guess that's good because it seems like we're getting closer to the time in our lives where we have to say goodbye. She's really not doing well at all. She has something called "loose knees" so the back part of her walks sort of independantly of the front of her (like a bus with the accordian middle). Lately she's been struggling with the restroom, and it appears she's terribly constipated, so we've been treating that the best we can. I just feel for her so much and I'm not sure what to do. I don't believe in keeping cats alive just so they can be my friends, but it sucks because her mind is there but her little body is failing her. I'm getting especially nervous because we're about to leave her for 16 days. She'll be here at the house with a friend stopping in every couple of days, but I'm just worried that 1.) she'll think her mommy abandoned her and 2.) she'll be sick and die alone...and Fernie will freak out. I'm not crazy enough to think that I would comfort Lily if she was sick and dying, but at the same time, I don't want her to be scared or alone if she's in pain. As I sat with poor Olive several months back, I think she actually did get some peace knowing that someone was comforting her. I'm just worried. Please pray for my little sweetie. I either want her to feel better and live forever, or somehow communicate to me what she wants me to do.

I'd do anything for this kitty to keep her out of pain. Man, I already miss her and she's not even gone yet. I don't know what my life will be like without my "girls" as little Fernie is getting so old too. The joy of geriatric pets-but at least I've had this time with them.

The Kids

Most of my friends have human children. I have fur babies, and at this point in my life, I'm happy with that, except when they are vomiting, flinging their litter around or, horror of horrors, spraying pretty much everything in sight (damned Yukie). So I wanted to share some pictures of the little cuties. They really are a joy to have in my life, despite their fur and nagging. They are all unique and I hope that when I have human children they take on some of the characteristics of these little guys. I might have already posted this photo. I don't get many of Lily because she is pretty much always doing the same napping pose and when I get close she wakes up and makes a sleepy cute face. Pretty much every picture. Mircea walked into the kitchen a couple days ago only to find Fernie up in a basket that sits on top of the cupboards. So cute. She was pretty much yelling at us while we took the picture. All the cats do this, but I happened to get this picture of Fern during her dinner where she pretty much had her head buried in her food dish. They love that Fancy Feast.Yukon getting "in" to the catnip. They were wild that night. I have a video to post later.Yukon is a Steelers fan, which can be a problem in a Colts-Eagles household, but we manage. He grew up in a Steelers house, so I thought it was only fair that he could represent. So I bought him a little hankerchief which he proudly wears on game days. So cute, with the exception of my stringy wet hair and glowing red eye scaring up the photo.He fell asleep about halfway through the game. He has his own room, which is the bathroom, and all that stimulation from the game got him going. I often have to touch him to make sure his is breathing because he is always just sort of zonking out and he really gets some deep sleep.



Hope you enjoyed the dorky photos!

Too Much Drama Today

Today our little town had some "big city issues". You can read a little blurb here. Basically, a woman who worked at a local bank was kidnapped from her house at gunpoint (with her two small children) forced to drive two armed men to the bank where she worked and told to rob the bank. She did as requested, and the gunmen dropped her and her family off in a parking lot, and then ditched her car a few miles away where they got into another car and haven't been found. The victims are fine, called the police and an all-out manhunt began. Actually it began earlier than her release, as the bank teller who assisted her at the bank (they were coworkers) called the police as well. So ALLLLLLLLLL the roads in St. Mary's county were blocked off, stopping anyone from going out. They had helicopters everywhere, and they kept coming back to base to refuel and it was very creepy. The problem for me? Well, I had my allergy appointment today, over the bridge in Calvert county (where I live). Well, the news reported that they'd closed the bridge. So I left waaay early and got to pass all this drama as it was still happening. I had to go through several "armed" check points but since I was in a white prius and not a black nissan it was a little easier to get through. I get to the bridge and it's open...but there was a 4 car pile-up on it, so it was still slow, but nothing like the detour I might have had to take. It was very dramatic, they haven't caught the suspects, but the victims are fine, though shaken up. The area is really getting a little scary lately, especially in a "triangle" of crime, from area roads.

As for the allergy test-I don't have the full list of everything I'm allergic to because they are mailing it, but out of the 31 allergens they tested for, I was allergic to 28 of them. Cats, dogs, molds, all plants, dust, all the good ones. I am now drugged up to help with the allergies and related asthma, so we'll see how it goes. I may be getting allergy shots, but we aren't planning that for a few months because I have a lot on my plate right now and we want to see how the meds work. So sorry Lily, you can't sleep with me anymore. And by sleep I mean, kick and scratch me all night, pushing me into Daddy who yells at ME for being a bedhog when it's really your rolley poley body. But I'll let you in when Daddy works late, don't worry!

Cat Pictures for the Lot of Them!

I have been taking some pictures of the "kids" lately because they've just been so darned cute. Especially that darned Yukon. He really is my teddy bear. Speaking of him, he is scheduled to go to the Vet on Wednesday to get the "knot" on his face looked at. It may be a tooth abcess, but it may be a tumor, which would be horrible, but I need to talk myself off the ledge as he is 15 years old and has lead a great life. Sure hoping it's the tooth. Enjoy the pics-and if you don't like cats, I'm sorry...but come on, they are so cute!!