Currently, 3 dogs and 3 cats share my home. Up til today there were 4 cats. I took our old Mama cat to the Vet because she was overdue for her rabies vaccination and hasn't looked "right" for some time now. Her fur looked ruffled and she had a voracious appetite although she was skin and bones. She was alert and responses were good, especially to food. She was highest in the pecking order so she had her choice of places to lie out on my bedroom deck where they all live during the summer. She liked best the small dog kennel shaded by a plastic tablecloth and padded with a faded bath mat.
The latest photo of Stormy taken late Winter 2010.
I wasn't expecting the vet to tell me that he suspected several of Stormy's organs were full of cancer. He and I discussed all the pros and cons and finally decided it was in Stormy's best interest, as well as mine, to put her down. He brought her in for me to say my goodbyes and I told her that if she should see Rocky, he would pick her up and cradle her and love her. I left with a huge lump in my throat.
Stormy came stray to our house in May 1999. We became aware of her because she rummaged through some garbage bags that had been left in the truck bed. Then one day when we were doing yard work, she came out of the woods and made herself known by a "Myow." We fed her and gave her a home after checking her out with the vet who reported that she was expecting.
So a month or so later, she had three kittens in our basement crawl space.
Rocky was so afraid our resident black snake would get them that he crawled back to where she was sheltered by a piece of plywood and brought out two all-grey kittens and one with Siamese markings, actually a reverse image of Mama Stormy. The latter who developed blue eyes which she still has, we named "Smudge." The other two, one with yellow eyes like Stormy's and one with green eyes, we named GreyBoy and GreyGirl, respectively. We tried calling them Shady and Shadow but GB and GG stuck.
If we had a special day to honor pets, here's who I would recognize and honor:
Dogs: Ritzi, Spitz; Chico, mixed; Tammy, Springer Spaniel; Tommy, mixed; Panda, mixed; Sable, German Shepherd; Pippin, Poodle; Laurel, Springer Spaniel; Jenny, mixed; Moose, mixed lab and Irish setter; Louie, beagle; Abe and Bonnie, both Springer Spaniels. I still have the last 3.
Cats: Tiger, Muff, Puff, Koko, Tom Bombadil, Goldberry, Syn, Twit, Sherman, Sylvester, Stormy, Smudge, GreyBoy, GreyGirl. I still have the last 3.
