Open

It has been a week friends. Losing my kitty has been so hard, and I know many of you have had the same experiences with ones you've loved. I knew she was going to leave us for awhile. I think it did help me in some ways to prepare myself for her loss. I had prepared my mind and my heart as much as I could. I see now, how depressed I was over the last few months, knowing the loss was coming.

I expected to be sad, but then there are all the moments I didn't plan for. The first time my husband left the house and there was no singing. The first time I came home without a floofy belly to greet me. Realizing I could leave a glass of water by my bedside without fear of cat saliva. Brushing my teeth and being able to spit without worrying about hitting a cat head. Closing a door in my house, any door other than the hall closet where the Evil Dyson lives, without an angry serenade.

As sad as this week has been it has also been filled with very touching moments. Reading all the comments from all over the world has touched our hearts. Animal people are great people.

When I think about writing, I ask for the inspiration to write things that make others feel something, or think about something in a new way. Often it is through laughter, but what ever the tone in the end I want my words to mean something to my reader. As we read all those beautiful words sent by others, I realized I have touched people with my words. Sure they were spoken as my beloved cat, but they spoke to our  humanity.

I remember a literary agent read our book and her critique was that the book was just about my cat. She asked what was special about my cat - did she do anything special?

"Like cure cancer? No, she's just a housecat... She doesn't get out too much." I said, knowing that I would probably need to self-publish.

I didn't have the right answer then, but I do now... Of course she was special, but she was also no more special than the kitties in the lives of my readers. If you love them, all cats are special. All cats are perfectly imperfect when you love them.

I have had a few people ask me if I will get another pet - knowing how sad these moments are - and the answer is yes, of course. I would never trade all the joy and love that came before to avoid this pain. Pain is fleeting and it too has its lessons to teach me. My heart is still broken, but it's also open.

Passing

It is with the heaviest heart that I report that our beloved Finny De Floof has left this world.

I think all of you who know me here know of my beloved kitty Fin. For those of you who don't know she was diagnosed with gastrointestinal lymphoma back in November.She was so sick at the time I never dreamed she would live this long, but my girl was a tiger.

She lived comfortably for the most part, with a few bad spells that she had always managed to pull out of. Each bad spell took it's toll though, and she grew progressively thinner and weaker. When she stopped eating on Sunday, even with the appetite enhancing pills, we knew the time was coming.

We waited till yesterday afternoon, just in case she was able to rally again. When I carried her out onto her beloved porch and she tucked her head into my chest - we knew the time had come. She was helped to the bridge by the kind vet who diagnosed her and her Dad beside her.

I knew my hysterical sobbing would only cause all of us more pain. I stayed behind so her spirit could find her way back to me. I'm sure it did too. I feel her all around me - oddly enough hovering around my water cup.

She was a perfectly imperfect cat that we couldn't have loved more.

Fin