| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 149.1 | | SANFAN::BALZERMA | | Tue Jan 21 1992 09:17 | 10 |
|
It has been TWO years since the Bales took his first trip across
the US from Boston to his new home San Francisco. I loved that
little ball of fur then and he means all the more to me now. I can
picture his front paws crossed over the edge of the bed that was in the
carrier and his head rested contently upon them. Little did I know that
I would go on to show him to his Grand and through him come to adore
Exotics and begin a breeding program. Thank you Bailey... :')
|
| 149.2 | | JUPITR::KAGNO | Kitties with an Attitude | Tue Jan 21 1992 09:40 | 31 |
| I have lost too many cats over the years to circumstances beyond my
control and all were very dear to me. However, my most fondest
memories are of Murdock, a lovely sealpoint Birman neuter. I was the
one who purchased Murdock but he had other plans. He fell in love with
my husband and could care less about me :^(. Still, I adored this
cat... he had such a personality and loved being shown. Last year, we
frequented many cat shows across the Northeast in both CFA and CFF in
an effort to attain his Grand Premiership and Grand Championship. He
never missed a show for points in either association (or for making
people fall in love with him!) and we did manage to earn the title of
Grand Premier in CFA. He championed in CFF and much to my surprise,
was Second Best Birman Nationally at the end of the season...
after only 3 shows!!
One month after attaining his Grand in CFA, Murdock was afflicted with
and succombed to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. A wall in our home is
dedicated in his memory and holds all of his rosettes and certificates
acquired during the show season. Pictures of him are framed and placed
throughout the house. We can still get teary eyed just looking at
those photos and remembering what it was like when Murdock shared our
lives.
We hope that one day in the future, his memory will live on in the form
of another Birman. Until that time, we take comfort with our current
five cats who, although special in their own ways, can never be what
Murdock was to us.
We miss you Buddy!
(Sniff!)
|
| 149.3 | Remembering Kalliste | MUTTON::BROWN | | Tue Jan 21 1992 10:25 | 17 |
| It is funny that you started this note today Marlene, because just a
few minutes ago I was reading with next unseen and saw your reply in
the brag note that mentioned Kalliste's role in Joui's DM, and him
looking down from heaven on his son Obi and how proud he would be.
I broke down in tears.
I have been doing a lot of remembering lately, memories of Kalliste
have been flooding in on me for weeks. This month marks a year since
his death. It hasn't been an easy year and I still miss him terribly.
It is true that he was a great loss to my breeding program, but more
importantly, I miss his companionship. I think of Kalliste as the love
of my life. He was strong, but sensitive; brave but not cocky;
handsome but not vain; and very, very loving. I had a special bond
with him and I miss that.
Jo
|
| 149.4 | Tiki & the wind up owl | CIVIC::FAHEL | Amalthea Celebras/Silver Unicorn | Mon Feb 17 1992 09:41 | 18 |
| Speaking of remembering...
The other night my husband and I were cleaning out a closet, and came
across a bag of "generic stuff".
I started to see what-all was in there, and I came across a little wind
up owl...one that waddles when you wind it.
This was one of Tiki's favorite toys when he was a kitten. (We would
wind it up, and he would knock it over just to hear the noise, then
bring it to us to be wound again.) We both started to cry when we saw
it.
We placed it near a picture of Tiki that we have in our living room.
Tiki II...we still miss you.
K.C.
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| 149.5 | | MAGEE::MERRITT | | Tue Mar 17 1992 09:23 | 8 |
| Memories........Tamba if you were still with me I would give you
the biggest best Birthday present on March 20th. But now that
you are in Kitty heaven...all I can give you his my love, memories,
and my heart! And you have them all!
Happy 3rd Birthday and I miss you baby!!!
Sandy
|
| 149.6 | | MAGEE::MERRITT | Kitty City | Tue Oct 06 1992 09:41 | 9 |
| It's so hard to believe that Tamba left me for kitty heaven one
year ago today. That tragic day is still so close to my heart...
and I miss my baby terribly.
Tamba...We all miss you so......but I do believe you are still close
to us and you continue to send all these needy kitties our way!!!!
Mom and Dad (Poco, Barkley, Angus, Chloe, Dewey, Abby, Bogie,
Van Gogh, J.C. and Sass)
|
| 149.7 | | SANFAN::BALZERMA | | Tue Mar 02 1993 12:09 | 30 |
|
I had packed all my luggage in the car and headed to the back of the
house to say goodbye to the kids. The girls were off exploring as
it was there first time at Linda's, but I knew exactly where to find
the Bales. True to form he was in Tom's computer chair. He saw me and
did a big kitty stretch. I leaned over him, rubbed his belly and told him
that I loved him. He put his paw on my cheek and I said goodbye. And
that is what I remember when I think of him.
Bailey died Friday morning while I was in Acton. Linda had been
thinking the night before how wonderful he looked. He was eating well,
taking his meds and was being totally entertaining. He really liked
being there and when someone walked towards him he would throw himself
on the floor and roll over and over like a dog. They went to get him
to medicate Friday morning and found him stretched out on the floor in
one of his usual spots. They pet him and realized that he ws dead.
She said he looked so peaceful. I needed to hear that.
I am getting through this because I know that this was Bailey's gift to
me. I was not the one who found him, I did not have to pick him up
and bring him to the vet and most important of all, I did not have to
make the decision.
Bales, I will always love you. "You bring me joy..."
All my love,
Mum
|
| 149.8 | With sympathy | CASCRT::LUST | Hugs - food for the soul | Tue Mar 02 1993 12:23 | 5 |
| oh, no! Marlene, I am so sorry. You and he gave such a good fight,
and the love you shared was special. He will live in your memories
'til you meet again.
Linda
|
| 149.9 | | JUPITR::KAGNO | Kitties with an Attitude | Tue Mar 02 1993 12:34 | 10 |
| Marlene, your tribute brought tears to my eyes. You and Bailey were so
lucky to have had each other, and he will live forever in your heart.
Treasure those special memories.
Big hugs go out to you, Callie, and Kisa.
Love,
Roe
|
| 149.10 | | MAYES::MERRITT | Kitty City | Tue Mar 02 1993 12:56 | 10 |
|
With tears flowing.....I just want to say how sorry I am to hear
about the Bales. He was so special.....and just like my Tamba he
left peacefully and did not force you to make that final decision
for him. He is with all our furry friends who will take very
special care of him!
Hugs to you Marlene....
Sandy
|
| 149.11 | with sympathy | FPTVX1::ABRAMS | Something....wonderful | Tue Mar 02 1993 12:58 | 9 |
|
So sorry about Bailey. My Bailey sends his love too.
bill,diane,
and
Klaus,Katrina,Phantom,Nutmeg,Coconut,Georgina,Bailey&Bosco
|
| 149.12 | | EMASS::SKALTSIS | Deb | Tue Mar 02 1993 19:48 | 3 |
| I'm so sorry...
Deb
|
| 149.13 | Cats' Eyes | DRUMS::FEHSKENS | len, EMA, LKG1-2/W10 | Wed Mar 03 1993 08:41 | 11 |
| There's a wonderful book called "Cats' Eyes" that depicts the life of a
cat as seen through its eyes. The next to last page, where he curls up
in a favorite place and goes to sleep for the last time is moving
beyond telling. Like this note, it's titled "Remembering". I have never
gotten through this book without coming totally apart. Still, it helps
you focus on all the wonderful moments, and the last page will leave
smiling through your tears. I can't recommend it too highly. I think
it's still available in paperback.
len.
|
| 149.14 | | PROXY::HUTCHESON | the revolution will not be televised | Wed Mar 03 1993 10:36 | 4 |
| I'm so sorry....
susan
|
| 149.15 | Our hearts are with you... | ISLNDS::SOBEK | | Wed Mar 03 1993 11:35 | 22 |
| Marlene,
I am so sorry to hear that you lost Bales. He fought a good battle and
beat the odds for a long time. Hugs to you in this time of pain and
loss.
All of us who followed your stories of Bales and the triumph of his
successful battles share in your sadness at his passing....
One of my favorites.....
The companionship of a cat
is never measured in weeks,
but in years of memories
and dreams that cannot be
be duplicated.
Roger Valentine, D.V.M.
Your Bales was blessed with love without limits.. The memories and
the dreams you shared are yours forever...
Linda
|
| 149.16 | Goodbye.. xo from us... | GAVEL::FALLON | | Thu Mar 04 1993 06:39 | 8 |
| Marlene, I am sorry. I heard it actually from Jo before I even read
this note just a few minutes ago. My heart goes out to you. We will
all miss Bailey.
Karen
Stinky, Ruby, Wing, Goldie, Tubba, Josette, Cassie, Lynxie, Smeadge,
Drak, Willie, Evvie, Ferret and her babies,
plus the birds: GEorgio, Lucy and
Niki.
|
| 149.17 | | DAGWST::BROWN | everybody run Prom Queen's Gotta Gun! | Thu Mar 04 1993 15:33 | 15 |
| I have been busy at work and unable to read notes for until now.
Marlene, you know how I loved the Bales, even though I wasn't his
favorite person. He was a great cat, a trouper, and I had the utmost
respect for him. In a lot of ways he seemed like a little human person
in cat fur.
It is remarkable that he was able to continue to live so well after his
illness was diagnosed. Perhaps his recovery will in some way help vets
to understand Cardiomyopathy, and give all the rest of the cats in the
world hope of an equally successful recovery.
I am so glad that you have such a great memory of your last moments
with him. Cherish that always.
Jo
|
| 149.18 | R.I.P. Bailey... | SALEM::DILLON_M | Major Mudd, my hero. | Fri Mar 05 1993 11:36 | 8 |
| Marlene,
We knew Bailey. We meet once and he touched our hearts. His memory will
always be with us.
We are so sorry.
Diane, Mike, Kai and Teddy
|
| 149.19 | | SANFAN::BALZERMA | | Mon Mar 08 1993 12:30 | 8 |
|
Your support and kind words enabled me to make it through last week,
thank you so very much. I picked up Bailey's ashes on Friday and
and now he is home. I feel such a sense of peace...
Marlene
|
| 149.20 | | SANFAN::BALZERMA | | Tue Jun 01 1993 14:58 | 22 |
|
I was in a cleaning frenzy this weekend and sat down to clean out the
bottom shelf of my bookcase. I pulled out one of those "Kitten Starter
Kits" that was tucked in between 2 books. I looked at the contents
and sobbed. It was the packet that Cin gave me when I got Bailey. It
contained all his kitten info including his health certificate for
flying, his rabies vaccine, his shot record and the receipt from Cin
when I purchased him...
So many times I had attempted to respond to David's note 538. It has
been 3 months since Bailey died and the pain and the emptiness has not
subsided in the least bit.. I had to take home the picture of him that
I kept on my desk because I kept catching it in my periphery and would
get depressed. I have the 2 girls at home. They are sweeties, but the
relationship we have is vastly different. There is just not that
"connection". Sometimes I actually feel guilty that I do not love them
with the same intensity that I did Bailey. People used to kid me that I
"loved Bailey more than the girls". My response used to be "not more, just
different". Who was I kidding. I did love him more, and always will...
|
| 149.21 | You Never Forget | DRUMS::FEHSKENS | len, Engineering Technical Office | Thu Jun 03 1993 08:19 | 41 |
| I don't know that you ever really get over the loss. I have a
wonderful book called "Cat's Eyes" which depicts a cat's life as seen
through its eyes (I think the author is Michael Taber (Tabor?) and I
think it's out of print. I have never been able to get past the last
few pages, where the cat, after a long and satisfying life, takes his
last nap under a favorite tree, without blubbering. It does have a
"happy" ending, as one of his offspring adopts his human. But every
time I manage the courage to read it I am reminded of the many wnderful
cats who have let me share my life with them, and I miss them awfully.
It's been almost three years since I stood beside Wabbit (aka "Big Brown")
as she was euthanized, old age (seventeen years, all of tehm with me),
diabetes and kidney failure having taken her to the limit. Last night
I listened to Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde ("The Song of the
Earth") for the first time since that painful afternoon when we listened
to last song, Der Abschied ("The Farewell") together before I took her
on her last trip to the vet, and by the closing bars I was sobbing
pitifully. Das Lied has a special connection to Wabbit, as she would
always come running when I whistled the opening horn calls. But despite
the tears and unfathomable loss, I can always smile in remembrance,
because the loss is so great mostly because there is so much wonderful
to remember about her. It was a long time before I stopped doing double
takes, thinking I had seen her in one of her her usual haunts.
It's just as bad with her sister, Miss Monkey (aka "Little Brown") who
died in my arms eight years earlier (eleven years now) of congestive
heart failure while the vet examined her. It seems like only
yesterday that she was stretched out beside me, sticking her nose in
my armpit, or sitting down in the middle of the Sunday Globe, begging
for her share of a cinnamon donut.
Wabbit and Monkey are survived by their step-brother Merlin, who's
pushing eighteen years now (also all spent with me). I treasure every
moment with him, knowing that his time will come too, all too soon.
But when Wabbit and Monkey were around, he was a bit of the odd man
out. Now, he has become every bit as special as his brown tabby sisters
were to me, and he misses them every bit as much as I do. Together we
just get by without them. Neither of us could do it alone.
len.
|
| 149.22 | A part of me ..always... | ISLNDS::SOBEK | | Thu Jun 03 1993 14:48 | 85 |
| Memorial Day was this past weekend and it seemed natural to find myself
at that special place near the edge of the garden ....Remembering.
TiJai There are no words to describe the way he was loved by
everyone who knew him for all his 20 years ...and forever
after. If there were no heaven before he left us then I know
wherever he went became one when he arrived.
This day I chose to remember the way he would place his paw
over my mouth when I would (try to) sing to him, ..remove
it when I stopped ...and replace it when I started again.
He always found a way to get his message across. :^)
Sheba My role model for more than 20 years. If there is such a
thing as a 'familiar' she was mine. She often appears in
my dreams and I waken to feelings of almost unbearable
joy and sadness.
This time I remembered her as a kitten ...tiny, fiesty and
ready to take on the world. :^)
Sity The last of the three Siamese who shared my life for over
20 years. Always elegant and aloof, ..she decided that Bob
was her person the minute he came into her world and she
adored him forever after.
I smiled as I remembered the day she startled a group of
visitors by falling through the suspended ceiling into
the kitchen sink full of water. A lady always makes a
grand entrance! :^)
Lovey My first Birman. I named her Love Story, ..not knowing
then that she was truly the beginning of a love story
that would take me on one of the greatest adventures of
my life. As I watched her young life slip away, I said
I could not become a cat breeder after all ...the hurts
were much too deep. Lovey taught me the strengths to know
that I can ..and I will.
I remembered the first time I saw her ..in her carrier when
she arrived at the airport. One look at her and the love
story began...
Magic Truly my Magickal Childe. My sweet little Birman girl whose
much too brief time with us brought me such joy and so many
dreams ...dreams that are still coming true.
I remembered her first night in our home. She was stretched
out beside me, cuddled in the bend of my arm. Every once in
a while she would reach out and touch my face ..as gently and
as movingly as she touched my life.
Mooner Moonstruck seemed the right name for her as there must have
been a little 'moon madness' in the way I fell head over
heels in love with her. In my eyes she was perfect in
every way ..except for the hole in her heart that would
take her after only a year. It was too short a time, but
the miracle was that she lived a full and happy life for
that entire year and I am forever grateful for that ..and
for the chance to share it.
I have many cherished memories of Mooner, ..but on this
day I remembered holding her close to my heart and wishing
for just one more miracle.....
Mistral My wonderful Birman boy that carried me through all the
highs and lows of showing. The lessons and the memories are
invaluable and too numerous to list.
But ..as always, when Mistral is in my mind, I remembered him
with his head tucked under my chin and those great paws
wrapped around my neck. ...I could almost hear his purr.
Whenever I remember these friends that have I loved so much ..or think
about the wonderful feline friends that now share our home ..I am
amazed and humbled at how lucky I have been.
I have decided that it doesn't matter to them or to me if anyone is the
favorite. Love is unmeasurable and I am just deeply grateful to have
shared so much.
Linda
|
| 149.23 | | FSOA::DJANCAITIS | stressful waiting | Fri Jun 04 1993 10:52 | 5 |
| Linda,
That was beautiful...........
Debbi
|
| 149.24 | Farewell to Midnight | HOTLNE::GRILLO | | Fri Jul 07 1995 17:34 | 38 |
| Even though my beloved kitten wasn't a purebreed anything, I fell in
love with my half Siamese-half long hair named Midnight. The cat
thought I was his Mother because I could mimic his calls. So,
everywhere I went, I was followed by the almost completely black bundle
of fur. Midnight never caused any problems, not even with my parents
dog (I still lived at home at the time). Samantha (a toy poodle) and
Midnight actually became the best of friends. They would nap together,
play tag (literally), watch tv together, share food, chase squirrels,
you name it, they did it together. The only thing they didn't share
was my bed. That was Midnight's territory. Before we could go to bed,
I would have to brush him for at least 15 minutes. He loved his
brushing. Those nights I was out late, he would not go to sleep till I
came home. But don't you know I got scolded, by him, about that. In
fact, one night, I was sneaking in passed curfew, and the house was
pitch black. I wasn't sure whether or not my Dad was up, and I didn't
want to take any chances of being caught with beer breath. So, I
tip-toed over to the refrigerator, and grabbed the cranberry juice.
The next thing I know, I'm being batted in the head with a certain
cat's paws. Being part Siamese, he loved to climb, and he also meowed
like a Siamese. Yup, you guessed it. Midnight woke the whole house
yelling at me for coming in so late. I still loved that cat. The last
great memory I had was of taking him and Samantha for a car ride.
Midnight would give up Tunafish for a car ride! He was my scarf; he
would wrapp himself around my neck, and tickle my ears with his tail as
he watched the world roll by. Unfortunately, we discovered that lit'l
Midnight had feline Aids from his mother. We found out 3 weeks before
Christmas. He went downhill from there. Even Samantha noticed. In a
matter of weeks his appetite went out the window, it hurt him to walk,
or go to the bathroom. Christmas was to be the last day I ever held my
little baby. He died while cuddling with me in his sleep. I have been
unable to buy another kitten since for both emotional and housing
reasons. But, the strange thing is, Samantha still morns her little
friend. It got to the point where she refused to eat or do anything.
We ended up having to buy a stuffed cat that looked like Midnight, and
giving it to her. That stuffed cat never leaves her side. Even Dogs
can learn to appreciate a beautiful hearted cat.
Tracy
|
| 149.25 | bye boots, love yer | TROOA::TEMPLETON | Will wonders never cease!!! | Fri Aug 18 1995 22:01 | 15 |
| Our nice little Boots out lived two dogs and she beat them up every time
she got a chance, but, she missed them when they died (as we did) she was
always the boss, very small but feisty, she would the defend the house
regardless of what came around.
She killed my sons pet mouse but when I found her in the morning, with
her paw on poor little Ralph, and said NO BAD CAT, she never killed
anything in the house again, she even went out of her way to look after
the rest of the menage that my son brought home over the years.
She was a pet, and even though I have a new problem in the house, she
will be missed and never forgoten
joan
|