Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Samantha, our cat, is dead.
Brigid
Veteran
Our black tabby cat, Samantha, who is 19, is dying. I found her when I woke up at 3:30am. She was in the kitchen throwing up pitifully, staggering and falling down. I picked her up in a towel, went to wake my parents and then brought her into my room and kept her on my bed. She tried to get up a few times and only fell back down on her side. She reached her paws out to me a few times and when I took her paw it curled around my finger. Her breaths were coming short, fast and shallow and I tried to comfort her as much as I could. My parents waited around for a while, said their good byes and they went back to their beds while I kept Sammy with me. I cried and cried and couldn't stop for a little while but eventually I'd cried myself out and I'm okay now. Samantha's on the the chest at the foot of my bed in a towel and a blanket between two pillows. If she's still breathing I can't tell. She made some noises which I think were her last gasps for breath and I think she may be gone now.
She was our oldest cat, the one we got after our very first cat, Tom, died. When my dad went to get another cat all her brothers and sisters in the litter ran away and she was the only one that stayed. So my dad chose her. A little while after we got her, another cat, a male, came to house out of nowhere and kept slamming his body against the door until we let him in. We named him Malcolm and he and Sammy became best friends from then on. They slept in each other's arms, cleaned each other and were generally inseparable until Malcolm died a few years ago. Sammy held on and she had the strongest will of any cay I've ever met. When she wanted cuddles she'd bug you and bug you until you gave her cuddles. When my dad was recuperating from the heart failure she used to climb up onto his chest, lay down over his heart and purr and purr. My dad called her Nurse Betty, giving him purr therapy. She took such good care of him.
I've just checked on her and she's gone. Our sweet wee Sammy. Her wee body's already stiff. We'll bury her next to Malcolm, in the garden.
Love,
Boo
She was our oldest cat, the one we got after our very first cat, Tom, died. When my dad went to get another cat all her brothers and sisters in the litter ran away and she was the only one that stayed. So my dad chose her. A little while after we got her, another cat, a male, came to house out of nowhere and kept slamming his body against the door until we let him in. We named him Malcolm and he and Sammy became best friends from then on. They slept in each other's arms, cleaned each other and were generally inseparable until Malcolm died a few years ago. Sammy held on and she had the strongest will of any cay I've ever met. When she wanted cuddles she'd bug you and bug you until you gave her cuddles. When my dad was recuperating from the heart failure she used to climb up onto his chest, lay down over his heart and purr and purr. My dad called her Nurse Betty, giving him purr therapy. She took such good care of him.
I've just checked on her and she's gone. Our sweet wee Sammy. Her wee body's already stiff. We'll bury her next to Malcolm, in the garden.
Love,
Boo
0
Comments
What a blessing that Samantha shared so much of her long life with you and was able to die in the warmth of your love, Brigid. May your tears refresh you and heal your wounded heart.
Everyone's pretty good and handling it well. She was so old we'd been preparing ourselves. I laid her out in the parlour for the cats to see after they finished breakfast. They all acknowledged her but none of them are upset in the least. Pinky and Torcal went right up to her and had a sniff then walked away. Tom and Daisy just looked at her as they were walking by. Or at the body, I should say. Because Sammy's gone. There's just a stiff body left. We'll keep it in the freezer until my nephew Michael can come by and dig a grave next to Malcolm's and then we'll do our little burying ceremony and say good bye again. Bless her sweet heart. Now we only have four cats. I wonder who's going to show up next? Pinky came after Finn died and Torcal came after Malcolm died. The space won't be vacant for long, I shouldn't think. I'm so grateful we can shelter them and feed them and love them. There are so many, all alone in the world. I hope another one shows up soon. I'll have to start saving some money in case one shows up that hasn't been fixed or had any shots. Bless their wee hearts. I love them so.
when we were digging a plum tree out, to make a wild-life pond, we came across the bones of a horse. They had belonged to a beloved pony which had died in the 1930s. She was buried there and the plum tree planted. Her bones now rest in a small 'barrow' that I built. It also houses a small artificial waterfall which aerates the pond in which we have fish, toads, frogs, water-boatmen, and a problem with herons.
Brigid, do you know a wonderful 'grace' associated with Brigid of Kildare?
For they are God's children.
I should welcome the sick to my feast,
For they are God's joy.
Let the poor sit with Jesus at the highest place,
And the sick dance with the angels.
God bless the poor,
God bless the sick,
And bless our human race.
God bless our food,
God bless our drink,
All homes, O God, embrace. Amen
I love all animals, but cats have a special place in my heart. I have two of them myself... or rather... they have me.
Know that you have given Sammy all the love she could ever have wished for.
x Love
These eyes are not me.
I am not limited by these eyes.
I am life without boundaries.
I have never been born
and I have never died.
Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars,
manifestations from my wondrous true mind.
Since before time, I have been free.
Birth and death are only doors through which we pass,
sacred thresholds on our journey.
Birth and death are a game of hide-and-seek.
So smile to me,
laugh with me,
hold my hand.
Let us say good-bye,
say good-bye, to meet again soon.
We meet today.
We will meet again tomorrow.
We will meet at the source. Every moment.
We meet each other in all forms of life.
These ears are not me...
These eyes are not me...
This nose is not me...
This tongue is not me...
This body is not me...
This mind is not me...
Simon,
I didn't know that particular grace. How wonderful! I think that would be the perfect thing to say before my meals now. Thank you so much! It's truly lovely and expresses what I feel so perfectly.
We also have to leave our house and all the cats that are buried here because it's just too expensive. It's also too much for us to keep up anyway, but we'll be sad to leave these graves behind. We have five cats buried here. I'll bet if we dug up more of the land we'd find a few horses as well, since it was they who cleared this land and turned it into a farm 150 years ago. My mother painted the names of the cats on stones and we used those are the grave markers. I think I'll suggest to my parents that we take those stone when we go and put up a memorial of some kind to them at the new house.
Olivia,
Thank you so much for you kindness. I'm so glad you are owned by two cats! I'll bet they love you very, very much, just like you love them.
Rambling,
How beautiful! Thank you so much for posting that beautiful poem by Thay. I love him dearly and just bringing him to mind has given me great comfort this morning and his poem just tops it off. I'll read it to my parents because I know it will give them great comfort as well. And I'm very glad you're owned by three cats, as well! lol!
I am sorry to read of your cat's passing away. Please know that I am sending prayers as well as comforting thoughts to you and your family. Here's a big cyberhug for you and your family:(((((((((Brigid and Family)))))))))
Adiana:usflag:
Like everyone else, I am sorry to hear about your families cat. My mom is a very big fan of cats, we have had them all our lives. Recently one of her favorites passed and she was shoken up a little bit. Cats are great companions. Again sorry for the loss, here's some cyber-energy for you!!!
So sorry to hear your news. We've lost two cats this year, Fluffy, who died at seventeen from a thyroid problem and Scotie, whose age we don't know. It's astonishing what a hole they leave in life, isn't it? Nothing I can say to help, save that I'm thinking of you and that time does heal.
Martin.
*hugs*
I share your sorrow that another has departed this world.
My thoughts are with you and your family. Please ket me know if there is anything that I can do for you.
hugs and kisses - Kim
i can only imagine how you feel .. i dont have any pets, but i did take a
moment to imagine and go there with you..
peace sister.. and to your family .. and the other kittys !!
I loved cats as a child, even though I was not to have one - especially tabbies. I will miss them if I had one too.
I'm especially grateful that nature was allowed to take her course and my parents didn't insist on bringing her to the vet in the middle of the night for the needle. I wanted her to be able to play out everything she needed to play out without interfering just because I couldn't stand to watch her suffer. I'm really grateful for that.
Since she's been gone I've been watching the emotions that have been taking me over. I wept bitterly last night, for her passing, for missing her and for the nature of life in general. I felt like a child kicking at the world because it wouldn't behave the way I want it to. During those moments I had no wisdom in me, just childish anger, frustration and sorrow.
But I let it happen and didn't fight it or berate myself for being childish and emotional, so that's a good thing. I relaxed into it somewhat and observed myself with a clinical corner of my brain and without judgment. I found that when I felt like I was facing more than one challenge I became overwhelmed and reverted to childish thought patterns ("I want her to come back!! Waaaahh!"). It was all quite interesting.
It was worth seeing the whole death process through even though it was a bit of a shock to me and I'm still a little shaky about it. It was my first time, after all. It had to be done and will have to be done as much as possible in the future.
Thank you all and your loving, compassionate, empathic hearts!! What friends you are! You've given me more joy and comfort than you'll ever know. I love you all so much.
My parents are going to FREAK when they read your messages. They had no idea I had friends like you all and it's going to comfort them more than I can say.
Sammy is dead - but never gone. That's the wonderful thing about memories. In Sammy's last days - she was probably in a great deal of pain. In your memories, she's as frisky as ever - with no discomfort to her.
-bf
Thanks for your gentle and wise response, BF. You never cease to amaze me.
Aww... that cuz you don't know me well enough, punkin.
You're better off that way too
Thinking of Sammy,
-bf
I feel for you and your family, dear, Please accept my condolences. As you know we lost our cat about a year ago (Jasper-a girl pussy) (did that sound right?) anyway (we now have Tommy-a boy pussy).
When jasper died we all cried-horribly,I was blabbing like a girl (no offence meant-just a similie).
We gave her a christian/Buddhist service and my 3 year old Joshua and Jessica placed floral tributes from the garden jasper loved sooo much.
I buried her in a prominent spot in our backyard garden where her spirit now resides in a tree we planted there a few weeks later. I love cats.
love to u Brigid and your Menagerie.
cheers all!
Metta
hey sister!
Now Tom is orange striped-so is ours
Tom makes a funny meow sound when he wants attention-so does ours, he says "Uhuh" kind of like Pepe le Pew. and meow when he's hungry while waiting near the laundry door (where he sleeps at night).
Tom purrs loudly-same as ours he sounds so loud we thought he was asthmatic!
Tom curls his paws to get your attention-well ours sleeps like a baby in our ours when we pick him up-Oh and if you don't pay enough attention-the bugger will bite you.:mad:
anyway enough coincidences,
Hope things are progressing better for you all now.
cheers,
Xray
Thank you so much, Iawa. I appreciate it very much.
Our cat Pie got run over outside our house a few weeks ago. The girl that was driving was as upset as we were and brought us loads of flowers and a card the next day as an apology.
We've since adopted two kitttens from our local cat sanctuary. They're 5 month old sisters, both black, Millie has long hair and Maude has short. They're still at the "let's charge around the house like mental things" stage and are currently playing the "shall we use our litter tray or go in some random place they'll never find" game!
On an aside, if you like cats you'll love http://www.mycathatesyou.com
I submitted this pic of Millie going wild when we were feeding her !
I have a question for you cat people....is there any way to get my cat to be a little less "talkative"? It's really cute most of the time, but not at 3am everyday! He is such a character. He will not eat the food in his dish unless it is completely full. He will sit there and meow at me until there is a big huge pile of food in his dish. What a goofball.
...I suggest you train him to use a tin opener......:thumbsup:
That's hilarious, he looks like a right bundle of fun!
Our cat Daisy is very talkative, too, especially in the middle of the night. My folks think she's looking for her kittens that she gave birth to when she was really young and were taken away from her. This was all before she came to us. I love the sound of their voices at suppertime! It's like a little cat choir. And Torcal and I often communicate with little high pitched sounds. It's really fun. Oh, how I adore those creatures! What joy they have brought into our quiet lives.
Hooray to all who adopt pets who really need them!!
We've never had Siamese cats but I've heard they're absolutely hilarious creatures.
I have a cat named Nigel. He too is not a happy fellow unless his food bowl is full. My advice to you is.........Keep the bowl full. No matter how I try to explain to Nigel that I promise to not let him ever go hungry, he just does not seem to believe me. I try to fill his bowl at night right before I go to bed. He seems to be less vocal in the night that way. But then I must fill it back up 1st thing in the morning also or he drives me insane until I do.
Nigel is part everyday barn cat, Siamese and possibly something wild.....Vet isn't sure.
We saved him as a kitten from death when he was going to be taken with his litter mates and be put down at the local shelter. He is 2 years old and and weights 20 lbs. not fat.
I would post a pic of him for you to see but since I am a sandwich short of a picnic basket when it comes to doing anything on the pc you can see his pic on my myspace page. You can get there thro the myspace newbuddhist page. actually you can see him there. He is my pic on myspace...
I can't figure out how to post pics of my cats on here from my Kodak Easy Share software. (That's a little ironic, isn't it? lol!)
Deb, if you and I ever go on a picnic, we'll starve.
I forgot to say how sorry I am for the loss of your cat! It's heartbreaking. I'm so glad you adopted more. All great blessings to you.
It was a real shame about our other cat though but fortunately she didn't suffer at all.
I have only ever owned 2 cats in my life and the 1st one was when I was a child. My mom mostly took care of him.
As for the picnic........I'm afaid you are correct.