mariko
Member Since 2011
It has been 2 weeks since I said goodbye to my sweet Lucy, and I miss her immensely.
Previous condo - Lucy's last day.
I remember the first time we met.
It was July 26th, 2000 -- my birthday.
My boyfriend at the time, Dave, invited me to his apartment for the first time after my birthday dinner, and while we were talking, I noticed this fluffy thing staring at me intently.
I’d like to say it was love at first sight, but it wasn’t.
It’s crazy but he never mentioned he had a cat, so she caught me by surprise, and I just thought “Oh, cat!”.
I always loved animal, but I wasn’t particularly a cat person then, you know?
In fall that year, I moved in with Dave and Lucy to his apartment, which I still live in to this day.
And Lucy and I became playmates.
I’d tie her favorite bumble bee toy to a string, and drag it around the apartment, and Lucy would stalk it and attack it.
She also loved being chased. We had such fun chasing and being chased by each other, running down the hallway. Her favorite game was to start from a peek-a-boo, and end with one of us chasing the other into the bedroom.
And then we’d play some more with a feather toy on a stick.
Lucy loved playing with me, but she never cuddled with me at first.
I so wanted to cuddle with her, but Lucy always went to Dave for some cuddly time.
Oh I was so jealous!!!
I remember the first time she snuggled and cuddled with me.
It was the Christmas time that year.
Dave went to Okanagan to spend the Christmas holiday with his mom, but I couldn’t go because of work, and it was just Lucy and me.
I was sleeping and Lucy climbed on me and slept on me, purring.
It made me so happy!!!
Within a few months, we were inseparable.
And our bond grew stronger every year.
I was told that Lucy was a very sick kitten when she was first adopted by Dave’s old roommate from the SPCA.
And she always had something going on - asthma, IBD, upper respiratory issue, liver issue, chronic pancreatitis, diabetes, CKD, until pancreatic and liver cancer finally took her.
Through them all, she never stopped giving me love and healing.
She knew exactly when I needed some love and cuddle and when I needed to work or was busy.
She came to bed with me and snuggled up on my chest purring, but at exactly the right moment as I was falling asleep, she stepped down and curled up next to me.
Everyone who knew us said Lucy was a lucky cat to have me as her caregiver.
Although I appreciated the comment, I always knew that it was me who was lucky.
I knew that Lucy was taking care of me too. I really felt that she thought it was her job to make sure I was OK.
She always observed me with that questioning look on her face whenever I was sick or sad.
And she’d come and cuddle with me, which always made everything OK.
She was always so careful not to hurt me.
Even when she was attacking and throwing some kitty punches at Ginger, I only had to insert my hand in between them and Lucy froze in mid-strike.
Whenever she accidentally bit my hand at the vet, she always quickly licked where she bit even while on her back being poked or shaved.
The relationship between Lucy and me was mutual, beyond species difference.
She was more than a furbaby to me, and I was more than a mom to her.
We were each other’s best friend, guardian, teacher and healer.
My friend said something sweet the other day.
I don’t know if any of you remember, but I posted about my friend Paul and his cat Grendel when Grendel passed the end of last year.
Paul said, Lucy made him want to adopt a cat himself, and he got Grendel, which motivated his friend to adopt 2 cats, Buster and Lilla.
Lucy made me want to have another cat, so I adopted Ginger.
Seeing me and Lucy and Ginger, my friend adopted her cat, Kuro.
Lucy saved 5 other cats out of their shelters.
I would like to thank my LL family again for all your love and support.
On her last day, I re-read everyone’s comment in her condo, and that kept me strong.
Without your support and guidance, I couldn’t have cared for Lucy as well as I did.
Without your friendship and love, we couldn’t have had such a peaceful goodbye.
Lucy - Thank you very much for coming into my life.
I loved every moment we spent together.
I know you stayed in your broken and painful body for as long as you could to be with me, and that’s more than anyone has ever done for me.
You are my soul mate, I love you so much and I will always always love you.
Only picture of kitten Lucy before we met.
My beautiful Lucy & some more photos.
Lucy's reiki practitioner did a crystal grid to help her transition on the day she passed.
Previous condo - Lucy's last day.
I remember the first time we met.
It was July 26th, 2000 -- my birthday.
My boyfriend at the time, Dave, invited me to his apartment for the first time after my birthday dinner, and while we were talking, I noticed this fluffy thing staring at me intently.
I’d like to say it was love at first sight, but it wasn’t.
It’s crazy but he never mentioned he had a cat, so she caught me by surprise, and I just thought “Oh, cat!”.
I always loved animal, but I wasn’t particularly a cat person then, you know?
In fall that year, I moved in with Dave and Lucy to his apartment, which I still live in to this day.
And Lucy and I became playmates.
I’d tie her favorite bumble bee toy to a string, and drag it around the apartment, and Lucy would stalk it and attack it.
She also loved being chased. We had such fun chasing and being chased by each other, running down the hallway. Her favorite game was to start from a peek-a-boo, and end with one of us chasing the other into the bedroom.
And then we’d play some more with a feather toy on a stick.
Lucy loved playing with me, but she never cuddled with me at first.
I so wanted to cuddle with her, but Lucy always went to Dave for some cuddly time.
Oh I was so jealous!!!
I remember the first time she snuggled and cuddled with me.
It was the Christmas time that year.
Dave went to Okanagan to spend the Christmas holiday with his mom, but I couldn’t go because of work, and it was just Lucy and me.
I was sleeping and Lucy climbed on me and slept on me, purring.
It made me so happy!!!
Within a few months, we were inseparable.
And our bond grew stronger every year.
I was told that Lucy was a very sick kitten when she was first adopted by Dave’s old roommate from the SPCA.
And she always had something going on - asthma, IBD, upper respiratory issue, liver issue, chronic pancreatitis, diabetes, CKD, until pancreatic and liver cancer finally took her.
Through them all, she never stopped giving me love and healing.
She knew exactly when I needed some love and cuddle and when I needed to work or was busy.
She came to bed with me and snuggled up on my chest purring, but at exactly the right moment as I was falling asleep, she stepped down and curled up next to me.
Everyone who knew us said Lucy was a lucky cat to have me as her caregiver.
Although I appreciated the comment, I always knew that it was me who was lucky.
I knew that Lucy was taking care of me too. I really felt that she thought it was her job to make sure I was OK.
She always observed me with that questioning look on her face whenever I was sick or sad.
And she’d come and cuddle with me, which always made everything OK.
She was always so careful not to hurt me.
Even when she was attacking and throwing some kitty punches at Ginger, I only had to insert my hand in between them and Lucy froze in mid-strike.
Whenever she accidentally bit my hand at the vet, she always quickly licked where she bit even while on her back being poked or shaved.
The relationship between Lucy and me was mutual, beyond species difference.
She was more than a furbaby to me, and I was more than a mom to her.
We were each other’s best friend, guardian, teacher and healer.
My friend said something sweet the other day.
I don’t know if any of you remember, but I posted about my friend Paul and his cat Grendel when Grendel passed the end of last year.
Paul said, Lucy made him want to adopt a cat himself, and he got Grendel, which motivated his friend to adopt 2 cats, Buster and Lilla.
Lucy made me want to have another cat, so I adopted Ginger.
Seeing me and Lucy and Ginger, my friend adopted her cat, Kuro.
Lucy saved 5 other cats out of their shelters.
I would like to thank my LL family again for all your love and support.
On her last day, I re-read everyone’s comment in her condo, and that kept me strong.
Without your support and guidance, I couldn’t have cared for Lucy as well as I did.
Without your friendship and love, we couldn’t have had such a peaceful goodbye.
Lucy - Thank you very much for coming into my life.
I loved every moment we spent together.
I know you stayed in your broken and painful body for as long as you could to be with me, and that’s more than anyone has ever done for me.
You are my soul mate, I love you so much and I will always always love you.
You two were meant to be together, that's for sure. And wonderful that 5 other cats were adopted because of Lucy. Hugs to you, Mariko. We are thinking of you and sending comfort vines.
