Free falling

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

I am at such loose ends....

I keep forgetting Beau's meds, especially the morning one. I used to do all the testing, shots, meds on Jeddie's shot schedule. So now I am just cut adrift. That is one of the harder things to get used to. For the first time in over 5 years I do not have someone to test and shoot bid. Sigh.

Next week I am heading up to MI with the cats to visit with my sisters and mother - and to bury Jeddie. It is going to be difficult, but I think (maybe) that it will be closure of sorts. It will be my final send off. And I know that is going to be tough as it will be my absolute last time to see him in this physical world. Ever.

I can't remember if I have posted here my idea to make a photo book for each of my cats that has died in the recent years. It's something I got the idea for three years ago, probably, for my cat Murphy who died in 2007. I have her's done (the layout), but not printed and am working on Charlotte's. Charlotte died last Sept. I found this photo taken July 2nd last year.

That's her in front and I don't need to tell you who the other cat is:

I knew she was fading - she was 18-1/2 already, but to think that he would be gone too in exactly one year and a day..... I am not sure I will ever get used to the idea.

If you are interested in how my cats travel, here is a link to a Health post about driving versus flying with cats:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=75114

 

[Dale 'n' Chip]

Charlotte was sure a pretty gal. I didn't realize she had passed until this month. Sounds like she lived a very full life.

So poor Beau is left without his best best friends? :-|

 

[Grayson & Lu]

Beautiful picture Sheila - and look how good Jeddie looks! That's the way you'll remember him.

Still thinking of you.

Lu

 

[Dale 'n' Chip]

Are Leanne and Arial sisters?

I noticed Beau sitting next to Jeddie and Charlotte. Were Charlotte and Beau related?

Hopefully the younger girls will make more time for Beau now. \M/

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

Yes, Charlotte was a real beauty:

She is not related to Beau, but without her I probably would not have him. She spotted him outside and went ballistic. The next day he was back and I saw him and how skinny he was. The rest is history. She was 5-1/2 years older than Beau.

Leanne and Ariel are sisters, or maybe just "sisters".

I got them both from my vet four years ago as kittens. They have the exact same coloring, except one has short fur and the other has long fur. They were found at the same building renovation site a week apart, so at first we thought they were sisters of the same litter, but Leanne had adult teeth a few weeks ahead of Ariel. Maybe Ariel was the runt of the litter. She sometimes acts a little "special" so could have been conceived later and born too early. I don't know. I just call them sisters anyway.

Beau has been very close to Murphy and Jeddie and somewhat close to Charlotte and Ariel (see above). Leanne is aloof, but she cuddled with Beau when she was little. Ariel is showing Beau some more affection since Jeddie died, but usually it devolves into biting. Maybe when the weather gets cooler they will cuddle more. I hope so, for Beau's sake.

 

[Dale 'n' Chip]

The color palette of those kitties is simply amazing. They even coordinate with the interior/furnishings for some kind of Zen or Feng shui?

Like you special ordered custom designer felines from IKEA?

But instead it sounds like each and every one found you in their own special way. :smile:

 

[Dale 'n' Chip]

Leanne and Ariel are sisters, or maybe just "sisters".

I got them both from my vet four years ago as kittens. They have the exact same coloring, except one has short fur and the other has long fur. They were found at the same building renovation site a week apart, so at first we thought they were sisters of the same litter, but Leanne had adult teeth a few weeks ahead of Ariel. Maybe Ariel was the runt of the litter. She sometimes acts a little "special" so could have been conceived later and born too early. I don't know. I just call them sisters anyway.

I'll bet they are from the same litter. Long haired kittens take longer to develop (for some apparent genetic reason) than their short haired siblings.

http://www.professorshouse.com/Pets/Cats/Kittens/Articles/How-Long-Till-Kittens-Open-their-Eyes/

How long till kittens open their eyes actually depends on the length of their fur. The long haired cats will open their eyes on a much later schedule than a short haired cat. There is no scientific research to verify why this may be, but it appears to run true throughout every breed. Short haired kittens will often peep out at the world for the first time between 5 to 8 days after birth. Long haired kittens don’t see what they are groping at until somewhere around 10 to 14 days old. Mixed litters (those with both short haired and long haired kittens) will actually develop at different rates because of this unique difference.

And in the wild the mother often weens them individually when they are ready.

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

Dale, that is really interesting. I never heard that before - or noted that in the litters of kittens we had when I was growing up. They all seemed to open their eyes at the same time, as I recall (but we are talking a LONG time ago!) and we didn't have many long-haired ones.

Occasionally, when I am planning how to spend that lottery money I hope to win one day :roll: , I think about having them DNA tested :lol: Naw. I just wish one of them could tell me.

Because they were found a week apart (by the landscaper working there), they were kept separated because Ariel, found first, was already tested for FIV, FeLV. I came to see her at the vet, but the landscaper had taken her home for the weekend (so she wouldn't be alone in a cage). So I got to hold Leanne and carry her around while the vet called the lady and asked her to bring Ariel back so I could see her. When Ariel was brought back in she was really interested in Leanne. Leanne seemed indifferent. Ariel was also really interested when I brought Leanne home two days later. I mean interested in a "I missed you so much" way. There did seem to be recognition on her part. Leanne, not so much, but she was slipping into a fever from the vaccination and was pretty sick the next day. I had to take her to the ER that night.

I have just always called them sisters because it is easier - although it doesn't really matter.

 

[Dale 'n' Chip]

...I just wish one of them could tell me.

Perhaps Arial already did? :smile:

I never noticed it with barn cats, but we seldom found them before their eyes were open.

It wasn't until more recently when the blessed event happened under my bed that I *lived* it whole hog.

At birth they all had short sleek fur. The first clue that one was different was when his eyes didn't open with the others.

In a panic I was somehow able to find that info online, I thought I might have a blind, mute kit with a birth defect.

His eyes didn't open for a whole week after the others, and he couldn't speak either. Finally his eyes opened and he eventually learned how to make distinctive gravely vocals. The profound developmental differences added up to a unique nearly perfect personality and disposition.

 

[Dale 'n' Chip]

Here's the "blessed event" which happened under the bed.




It's amazing how much of their personality is already evident at such an early age.

But impossible to tell fur length.

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

Awwww.... ! Which one ended up having long fur? The middle one?

 

[Dale 'n' Chip]

...Which one ended up having long fur? The middle one?

He was the woolliest. But no not him.

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

OK - the guy on the right - is that Chip as a baby, by any chance? I'm looking at the light patches right under the eyes and comparing then to his photo on DCIN.....

 

[Vicky & Gandalf (GA) & Murrlin]

Fascinating. No wonder long haired cats are so special ;-) I guess in Ariel's case, she was thought to be younger, but she is really the same age, because she didn't look as developed as Leanne?

 

[Dale 'n' Chip]

Fascinating. No wonder long haired cats are so special ;-)

I sure think so. All long haired cats spend more time in a dependent infantile state. It may be more pronounced in mixed litters, just from being left behind.

I handled these kittens daily from the minute they were born, as an experiment in nature/nurture. I noticed a difference in their development. Mama kept them under the bed, despite my efforts to move them to a nest. I played with them frequently up on the bed. All three bonded with me, but one day when they started moving around more, the *different* one came rappelling up the side of the bed to see me. The other two didn't try that, they later stood at the edge and repeatedly attempted to jump. And it took somewhat longer before they could jump up on the bed. The special one crawled vertically up the side of the bed whenever he wanted to see me.

My money says Leanne and Ariel are not only from the same litter, but the DNA test will confirm they have the same father. Just my hunch.

 

[pamela and tigger]

Next week I am heading up to MI with the cats to visit with my sisters and mother - and to bury Jeddie. It is going to be difficult, but I think (maybe) that it will be closure of sorts. It will be my final send off. And I know that is going to be tough as it will be my absolute last time to see him in this physical world. Ever.

I hope you have a good visit with your Mom and sisters Sheila, despite the sadness with having to leave Jeddie there. From pictures you have shown in the past, it is really a beautiful and perfect resting place for him alongside Charlotte. (is Murphy buried there too?)

Beautiful pictures and stories in this thread.

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

Pamela, Jeddie will be my 6th cat buried up there. The first was Melanie (1986) right after my parents got divorced and sold the house I grew up in. My grandparents built this house to retire to in the late 60s, so I have been going up there since I was 10 or something. It became the one house that I felt would be in our family "forever". Now, I at least think it will be in my family the rest of my life. I don't know what I will do if that turns out to not be true. After Melanie there was Kruger (1991), Shamar (1992), Murphy (2007), and Charlotte (2011).

I was just looking to see if I had a good photo of the woods behind the house to show you guys, but I don't really. Lots of photos of the view from the house and a few of the house, but not the woods behind it.

 

[Dale 'n' Chip]

...I was just looking to see if I had a good photo of the woods behind the house to show you guys, but I don't really. Lots of photos of the view from the house and a few of the house, but not the woods behind it.

You can give us the tour when you get there?

Interesting cat names. And if we do that math it sounds like the earliest you could have been 10 was in the late 60's? ;-)

 

[Dale 'n' Chip]

OK - the guy on the right - is that Chip as a baby, by any chance? I'm looking at the light patches right under the eyes and comparing then to his photo on DCIN.....

That was a good guess. Chip is his uncle.


Both are now vying for alpha male.

When I see one of them down a dark hallway,
at first glance, I can't be sure which is which.

 

[Dale 'n' Chip]

One final hint as to which one of the three would be long haired.



Both pictures where taken on the same day.
One still had slightly blue eyes.
Eyes that opened much later...
Did you know all kittens have blue eyes when they first open?

(if you need a little more help)

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

Well, in that last post, you can tell by the halo of furs around him. Max is beautiful in his adult photo - very glossy looking.

Now, of course, I want a kitten...

And, yep, I was born in the last 3 horoscopes of 1958. I won't have internet access up there - and I'm not taking my laptop. I can try to take some interior photos and show you when I get back. Meanwhile, here is an October sunset from in front of the house. Beyond the far side of the lake, by a few hundred feet, is Lake Michigan.


BTW, when I took this photo, I was standing just about where Beau was the first time I saw him.

 

[Grayson & Lu]

What a beautiful resting place. Have a safe trip & God Bless.

 

[Peggy and Mickey (GA)]

I understand what you mean with being at loose ends. Since Mickey has been gone I am forgetting/lost... to feed all of my cats on schedule. I have realized maybe Mickey had been eating all of the wet food when I set it out in the morning. He had a special spot to be fed on top of the kitchen table. Now I put down food and it does not get eaten. I just have make it ok with myself and god I hope that I helped him cross the bridge at the right time. I still feel guilty that we/me the vet never figured out his poop/pee problems and that I didn't make him suffer more than he was already.

I had a litter of kittens I fostered. 6 of them all bottle fed. They all were adopted quickly. I named the last two Squishy and Curley....Curley was the fuzzy one. Always goofy. They went to a home for four months and I got a call from the Animal Alliance saying the owners of them wanted to give them back because they were destroying their house. Not the case when I had them in a room for two weeks when they came back. The only thing I could figure was Curley likes to climb the walls. Nutty cat likes to run run and up a wall he goes...nothing plastic borders cannot fix. I do think they were hit by fly swatters though. If I pull one out....they are gone!!
But Curley was the only one out of the litter that was long haired..and he is beautiful to this day...I wish I could post pics...

Sheila, Jeddie will be at rest at your mothers house. I am thinking of you.
(((big hugs)))
I had Mickey cremated. He is at rest with Hisser and Mister in my TV stand where angels sit on top of each box, my mothers angels she collected over the years...

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

Peggy, I know all too well the second guessing that goes on after having to make the decision to PTS because of a terminal illness. Was it too soon? Too late? Did they suffer? Could I have done more/differently before hand to treat the illness?

I think - am finding - that we need to forgive ourselves and let that go. It doesn't serve us and it doesn't serve them. I will NEVER get to a place where I am comfortable making that decision, or feel all that comfortable with having made it in the past, but what is done is done. And it was done with love and concern for their well-being. The situations for us are that life could not have gone on much longer and not without suffering. I don't think anyone here takes the decision lightly and would not do it unless if was an end of life situation.

In all the sadness and loss I feel for Jeddie, I do not question that decision or it's timing. What I have yet to come to terms with is wanting things to have been different all along the way to including that he never got the cancer. Sigh.

At least I was able to spend a lot of time with him in the last two years and be here 24/7 during all this to tend to him as he needed it. I don't know what I would have done if I had been working a full time job away from home. I may have no money in savings any more, but at least I was here. In terms of hours, I was probably able to spend what would have been an extra year and half or so with him over the time I would have spent with him had I been working.

Getting laid off two years ago and not finding another FT job happened for a reason(s) and this was probably one of them. There are no coincidences in life.

 

[Peggy and Mickey (GA)]

Sheila, I am sobbing reading your post....I still am having trouble forgiving myself...I do know he wasn't happy or comfortable, just like you did. It does not make it any easier...at all.

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

(((Peggy)))

I think that looking for it to be "easier" is setting ourselves up for a lot of anguish. I am looking for peace. For acceptance of what I can not change. I want to get to a place where thinking about Jeddie brings me joy for the time we had together and for all the wonderful things he was (see, now I am sobbing..) and how proud I was of him for being his happy, funny, sometimes exasperated self. Oh, how I miss him.

Obviously I am not there yet.

We both did the best we could in a situation where there was no "winning". We were going to loose the battle. But I don't think we lost the war - if the war was loving them and giving them a good home, plenty of nourishment for their body and soul, and a painless passing.

We still love them and if there is a place beyond this existence where spirits continue on, and I believe there is, then they know how much we love them and I think they would not want us to be sad.

 

[Grayson & Lu]

[quote="Sheila & Beau & Jeddie (GA)] We still love them and if there is a place beyond this existence where spirits continue on, and I believe there is, then they know how much we love them and I think they would not want us to be sad.[/quote]

Well said! Hugs to all who've had to make that extremely difficult decision! The first time I had to, was the first time I KNEW I was an adult. No one to tell me, just had to make the decision by myself, and live with it. It was the most difficult thing I'd ever done.

God Bless!