I LOVE CATS
WHY DO I LOVE CATS?
FOR MANY REASONS
We all have stories about how we found or adopted our kitties. I have had many dogs and cats throughout my life. First I will tell you about my current family of furbabies and then I will tell you about a very special cat that has gone to kitty heaven.
After you leave here, visit our other website at
PUMPKIN
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PUMPKIN - This female striped kitty with perfect white markings is17 years old.
She is a very sweet and loving cat. Pumpkin always had one eye slightly different than the other. We always had it checked and were told to watch for changes. Last May, l998 we noticed a big change in one eye.
The vet said that it was glaucoma, she was blind in the eye and it was painful. We all agreed that it would be best to have the eye removed. It turned out to be a good idea because the eye was malignant.
Pumpkin came through the surgery with flying colors. However a few months later she developed diabetes. I must give her two insulin shots per day. I am glad to say that over three years later, she is doing fine and I pray that she will stay that way.
Pumpkin is very cooperative and lets me take samples of her urine for testing and is very good about her shots. She is still beautiful, even with one eye, and the same sweet loving cat.
If your kitty has diabetes, it is not that hard to manage so don't give up and visit the website listed below. There you will find "friends" to help you and give you lifesaving tips about cats with diabetes.
UPDATE: The unthinkable has happened. Pumpkin died during the night on September 9th, 2002 while she was at the vet hospital. I am still spinning and can not believe she is gone. She started to have liver problems and her sugar was hard to control. She refused most foods and I had to assist feed her with a spoon. Then she became dehydrated. I desparately searched the internet for answers. Many catlovers reached out with advice such as you can beat liver disease. Ask your vet for periactin, it is an antihistimine and it stimulates the appetite, they said. I asked several vets in my area but they said they do not use that drug and there is not much you can do at this point. I had to take her to the vet because she seemed dehydrated. Perhaps he would give her sub q liquids and periactin. He said that he could help her but I would have to leave her there for a few days. My heart said absolutely not but the vet assured me that it was the best thing. So I left her there thinking it would only be a few days, he would hydrate her and I would get hold of some periactin, denosyl (SAM-E), a natural supplement for the liver, and I would take her home and nurse her back to health. The vet assured me that she was doing well, eating and he was regulating her sugar. I did visit her twice in the three days she was there. (Sunday was not allowed). On Monday, she did not look too good. Her ears were yellow, a sign of jaundice. The vet said not to worry, that would go away. I wanted to take her home that day but he said, maybe tomorrow. That night I searched the internet, found periactin on a Canadian website and also ordered B12 shots. That day I had purchased more diabetes testing supplies, different kinds of foods to tempt her and ketodiastix to test her urine for ketones. I was already to fight the fight. No matter what the vet would say on Tuesday I was going to insist that she come home.
That morning the phone rang at 8:30AM. It was the vet. He said well I was able to get her sugar to where I wanted it last nite but she died during the night.
I AM STILL IN SHOCK. Her pain has ended but mine has just begun..............
About 6 weeks later I still could not bare the pain of loosing my sweet Pumpkin. I decided to search for another cat that would help fill the void. I searched the internet for cats that looked like Pumpkin. I found three shelters that had cats for adoption that reminded me of Pumpkin.
The first shelter had a kitten. I called to ask some information and it turns out that they do not test their animals for feline leukemia before they take them in so they could not guarantee that any of their animals were free of this disease. I did not want to get involved with taking the cat and having it tested because I could not bare anymore heartache at this point.
The second shelter we went to a few days later also had a cat that reminded me of Pumpkin. Her name was Nervana but when I approached her she went for me and tried to bite me. I thought, poor cat, probably had some rough times and needed some TLC. But I was not up to the task. I missed the sweet and loving personality that Pumpkin and I guess I was desparately searching for a cat that was like her in looks and personality.
I was about to give up but I checked one more shelter the next day. When I walked in I did not know where to look first. So many beautiful cats. The first one that caught my eye was a grey tiger striped cat with white markings similar to Pumpkins but she had long fur and a tail like a plume. She was adorable. I watched and studied her. Then I picked her up. Not sure but maybe. I studied all the other kitties. There were several Tuxedo cats, another favorite of mine ( like my Cupcake). They all took their turns studying me as well. They leaped on counters and looked me straight in the eye as if to say, take me please, I want a home. My heart went out to all of them. I kept my eye on the little tiger cat that I saw when I first came in. I was almost sold on her but then she coughed. I thought oh no because my Charlotte had coughing problems (Thank God, right now she does not cough. I give her MSM, a natural supplement).
I kept searching every nook and cranny, every cat bed and condo, every shelf and window, because I wanted to find a new kitty so badly. I thought I was going to leave again without one. Then I picked up the tiger again and so did my husband. We started to bond. That was it, instant decision.
Well this sweet kitty took to us immediately. As we checked out and held her on the counter she just sat their in my arms and was so well behaved we could not believe it. So home we went with our sweet Susie Q. It turned out that she had an upper respiratory but she is fine now and blends in with the other cats.
HERE IS HER TAIL!
and heeerrrreeesssss..................SUSIE
PEACHES
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PEACHES - We had many litters of kittens in our yard each summer. My neighbor and I took care of them and then brought them to an animal league where they would be adopted. That is how I got Pumpkin, the kitty listed above.Peaches, however was a stray who wondered into our yard. She is mostly white, has some black markings. One of the black markings looks like a jewel on her forehead, like an Iranian princess. Peaches has yellow eyes and is a lovable cat when she wants to be.
When we decided to adopt her we placed her in a cage in our driveway until we could take her to the Vet. We always checked our new cats out at the vet before we brought them in to protect our other cats.
Well she was so content sitting in that cage. She knew she had succeeded in convincing us to take her in and was not afraid at all. She just sat there and groomed herself and seemed very happy.
We enjoyed Peaches company for over 13 years. The last few years of her life she was blind as far as we could tell. We even brought her to Cornell University to see if there was anything they could do for her eyes. Unfortunately, they could not. She managed pretty well finding the litter and a warm sunny spot to sleep. Last spring she took a turn for the worse and started to walk in circles. She got really sick and we had to say goodbye to her in May of 2001.
GOODBYE MY SWEET PEACHY - You can see a tribute to my Peachy on
FRITZI
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FRITZI - This is the "baby". Several summers ago, I took care of a litter of kittens and the mommy cat in my yard. As the cold weather approached, I decided to adopt this one and brought the rest of the litter to my Vet who was kind enough to spay and neuter them and put them up for adoption. I wish I could have adopted them all.Fritzi is about a year old now and loves to raid the refrigerator. She does not have to worry about where her next meal will come from.
Here she is pictured all warm and snugly. Sure beats laying under a bush on a rainy day.
Fritzi was considered a Ferrel. She turned out to be one of the most loving and affectionate pets. I am glad that I found her and added her to my family of cats.
Here is Fritzi modeling a cat sweater
HERE ARE THE LATEST ADDITIONS
"CHARLIE AND DAISY"
They each have a story as well. We found "Charlie" first or I should say she found us. One day we came home from food shopping and as I was unloading a bag of groceries I looked over and there was this cute kitten just sitting there on the ground watching me and not saying a word. All I could say was OH NO, please not another kitty. I already had three cats and I love them dearly but I really did not want another cat. My husband and I were hoping that he would go home or back to where ever he came from. Well as the day went on, he never left and of course we felt bad for him and gave him some food and water.
To make a long story short, after giving him an outdoor shelter for a few days, we decided to keep him. So off to the vet HE went and we found out that Charlie was not a HE BUT A SHE. Her full name is now Charlotte but we still call her Charlie.
She is a very sweet cat but has some health problems. She has periods when she coughs a lot. After the opinions of three vets (asthma, chronic bronchitis) the last vet took an x-ray and thinks it is allergies. She gets antihistamines when she coughs. Otherwise she seems very healthy. I am working on the theory that it may be a roundworm problem because I read that when cats have roundworms the worms lay eggs and the eggs travel through the lungs and bronchial tubes and this causes coughing in some cats. I am now in the process of worming her and hope that once the worms are gone the coughing will go away also. I hope this is the problem because it is very pitiful to watch her cough. Her roundworm problem is persistent compared to any other cat that I have adopted. The same is true for the last new addition to our cat family, the second cat in the picture above - Daisy.
Daisy appeared on our property about a month later and I thought I was going to die. What is happening to me. Where are all these cats coming from. NO. Definitely, I am NOT going to keep this one. Gee, she looked like she came from the same litter as Charlie. Meowing at every window, I said - go home, please. No more cats!!!
I had 5 cats (before Peachy passed away).
Here is a photo of the Furry Clan at chow time:
Daisy's story was like an adventure movie. I just did not feel like taking in another cat so off she went to a local farm to be a farm cat. We dropped her off and while we were speaking to the farmer the farm dog came running after Daisy. She tossled poor Daisy around and Daisy disappeared. Reluctantly we went home. Well, needless to say, all that evening I cried and all night long I tossed and turned. Will morning every come. What had I done to that poor little kitty!
My husband suggested that we go to the farm the next morning just to see if the kitty was ok. No one was home so we looked for the kitty. Here baby, I cried. Well out she ran from the barn but she saw the dog once again and headed in another direction. My husband talked baby talk to the dog to keep his attention while I looked for Daisy. Finally Daisy came running to me from behind another barn and stood up on her hind paws, her eyes wide open and cried MOW, MOW, MOW as if she was screaming to me - help me, help me!!!!
Well, I scooped her up into my arms and she was happy to have me do so. It was a good thing I had a vinyl jacket on because she was covered with mud and cow manure. My husband and I jumped into the van and off we rode into the sunset with our 5th addition. Daisy lived in our basement for about a week so I could get the smell of cow manure off her and off to the vet she went.
AND BABY MAKES FIVE.....................She is as bad as she is cute but we love her and I think she might be from the same litter as Charlie because they look very similar and they play together so well.
Well that is our update for now...................stay tuned. And pray that we are not blessed again with any more additions, thank you.
LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST
IS MY CUPCAKE
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CUPCAKE - unfortunately she has gone to kitty heaven. She was l7 1/2 years old when she passed over to Rainbow Ridge. (A name for cat heaven)I held her in my arms and wished her a safe journey as the last breath left her body.
I will never forget that day. It was truly one of the hardest things I had to endure.
Because I held her as she passed, I think part of her soul attached to mine and I feel her with me always. I truly loved her and felt that she was a kindred spirit.
When she was alive, I kissed her several times a day because she brought so much joy to my life. I miss her sweet voice. She always greeted me when I entered the room by saying the cutest meow sound.
The last pictures shown below is of a cat statue and I decided to paint it to look like Cupcake. It came out so lifelike and looked so much like her that when my husband came home and saw the statue on the kitchen table, he almost thought that Cupcake was back.
I guess the love in my heart came through in my hands as I painted the statue from her photo.
I still miss her terribly even though she is gone almost five years now.
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This is a statue before I painted it to look like My Cupcake
This is the statue after I painted it from a photo of Cupcake.
CUPCAKE
MAY YOU REST IN PEACE
UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN
SAY HELLO TO GRANDPA PAUL AND ALL THE OTHER FURBABIES THAT
HAVE GONE BEFORE YOU
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FELINE
DIABETES SITE - where I found lifesaving
information for my Pumpkin who had diabetes. I also met some wonderful
people who helped me through her final passing. Without them I don't
know what I would have done. Please visit this site if your cat has
diabetes and even if your cat is healthy, visiting this site may help you
prevent your cat from getting diabetes. God Bless You!
THANK YOU FOR VISITING
"HAPPY TAILS" TO YOU
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