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She’s gone…. 😥 😥
We caught a break with the weather, so with the soft summer sun shining, and a gentle breeze blowing through the leaves of the oak in the backyard, we took Neige outside for the last time and let her walk around in the cool green grass. She was pretty weak, so she didn’t go more than a few steps at a time before laying down in the grass. When she’d had enough exploring, we let her go. At least she got to see something better than the vet’s office as her last sights. She’s buried in the yard next to Turbo, who we lost last year on July 11 at 14 years old, and my first cat, Rainbo who went on July 19 11 years ago at 19 years old. I’m beginning to hate July anymore. No matter how long they live, it just isn’t long enough.Neige was such a gentle loving soul. She was a pound refugee, and always showed her appreciation at her second chance at life. We were told by the shelter people that her first owner either died or was put in a nursing home and the family came to clean out the house and didn’t want the cat, so they literally threw her out with the trash. She was between 1 and 2 years old at the time, unspayed. She lived on the streets for a couple of months before a neighbor caught her and brought her to the shelter. She’d had kittens, but the neighbor said they’d disappeared one by one before they could catch her. She was in the shelter for months, because nobody wanted an adult cat; they all want the cute little kittens. Thankfully this was a no kill shelter, but they were so packed they couldn’t even find the time and personnel to give the poor cat a bath, so when we brought Neige home, she was dirty and bedraggled from hiding under cars and stuff. That first day, I put her in the kitchen sink and gave her a bath, thinking this is where I get shredded. And she just sat there in the sink, looking at me. So I gave her a bath, and got out the blowdryer and a comb, thinking THIS is where I’ll get shredded. And the cat looked at me, looked at the blowdryer, and rolled over in my lap so I could dry her armpits and belly first. It took months before she would jump into our laps. She’d come over and look at us, tap us on the knees, and she wouldn’t jump up unless we invited her. Whenever we got our car keys, she’d bolt for the food dish, and frantically stuff her face as fast as she could. When we started packing to move to this house, I thought this poor cat was going to have a nervous breakdown. She’d sit in the middle of the room looking at the boxes, and just shake. I guess she thought we were going to do the same thing to her, and just put her out with the trash again. When we moved into this house, and started unpacking, she realized she was staying, and literally overnight she developed a sense of humor. She started looking for a lap the second our butts hit the chair or couch, and that was the way she stayed for the rest of her life with us. She was 18.
The house is a little emptier now, even though we still have 3 cats left. I miss her so much already…… 😥
Sorry for your loss. It also looks like my Talisen will be joining your two soon. he also has chronic renal failure and he has decided he doesn’t want his sub-cue anymore. *hugs*
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Sanguine Oriental Test Paints, kinglet
Sun Dragon Koi #3*hugs* Neige sounded so sweet! I can just imagine her looking up at you, and then when she finally realized she was staying…that touched my heart. I am so sorry. 😥
What a sweet, intelligent, gentle soul Neige was. You are so lucky to have had her for the time you did, I got all choked up reading about her. I’m so sorry that she’s left you. Big major hugs.
Thanks, everyone for the condolences.
Setsuna, I’m sorry to hear about Talisen. 🙁 How long have you been doing the Sub Q’s?
*more hugs to Tasgrs…and offers a box of kleenex* I guess owning a pet is kind of a glimpse at being immortal…out living the ones you love. None of my pets have lived past 14, so you are very fortunate that your pets lived as long a they did (but you know that already :))
Did you know Neige is french for “snow”?
You should definately check out this book Its got a lot of very sweet cat stories in it. And some funny ones too. It might lift your spirits. And if you’d like, I could send you my copy to borrow 🙂I hope you feel better soon Tasgrs. Neige is at peace now.
Thanks, Wolfen. Lord knows I need the kleenex, too. I guess you’re right about the glimpse of immortality, but if this is what it’s like, who would ever want it?
The book reminds me of the “Chicken Soup for the (insert critter here) Lover’s Soul” books and the “All things bright and beautiful” books by James Herriot. I’ve sniffled my way through all of those on more than one occasion. 🙂
I knew Neige meant snow in French. 😉 We adopted her in December of 1993. The shelter we got her from was so packed with animals, they didn’t even have the means to test her to see if she was FeLV positive or not. They told us to take her to our vet, get her tested and if she was positive, to bring her back there, and they would euthanize her. (Yeah, riiight….as if I would’ve brought her back to that place for anything!)
So we kept her isolated, took her to our vet and had her tested. I hadn’t named her at that point, because I figured if I did, my luck would be I’d start to get attached, and she’d end up positive. We spent a couple of tense days, waiting for the results, while this poor cat lived in our bathroom. The day our vet called and told us she was FeLV neg, it was December 9th, and it was snowing for the first time that season. Since at that point I knew we’d be keeping her, I felt it was a good hint, but didn’t want to do the “Snowy” or “Snowball” thing, so I figured Neige would work. (I used to be fluent in French and Spanish a long time ago…) We used to get some pretty interesting attempts at pronouncing her name. 🙂
She was a cheerful little soul, once she settled in. She didn’t meow so much as she’d kind of squeek or chirp. The more pictures I look at of the purebred Turkish Angora cats, the more I’m convinced that she was either purebred, or damned close to it. She looked like all of the pictures I’ve seen, from her big, almost bunny-rabbit like ears, to her curlie belly fur. Her head shape was right, too. Someone’s “trash” turned into our treasure. If I ever find out who dumped her the way they did……..
She’s sorely missed, that’s for sure.
I’m thoroughly grateful for the 3 cats we have left. Cayenne, our Maine Coon boy is now the senior “spokescat” at 15, then we have our little female American Bobtail, Lillee, who is 6, and Whims 5, our male Bobtail, often referred to as “Monstah Kitteh” since he weighs 22 lbs. Cayenne and Lillee have decided that their jobs are to sit in our laps, and give as many kisses as they can before they rasp the skin off our faces. 😀 Lillee sat on George’s chest tonight and spent like 10 minutes licking his face. If she thinks either of us is feeling bad, she’ll make a point of giving kisses until we laugh. I’m SO happy that she’s here, and that she’s such a loving little soul. While Lillee worked on George, I had Cayenne on my lap, helping me type, and nibbling on my ear. And Whims is the “Official Greeter” when we walk in the door at the end of the day. And of course, there’s our Great Pyrenees, Flurry, who is a certified Therapy Dog. She’s been working overtime these last few days.
And let’s not forget my husband the mush, (for which I love him dearly… 😀 ) who has already started dropping hints that the cure for grief when you lose a pet is puppy or kitten breath. I KNEW he would do this, and I figured it would start within a couple of days or so after losing Neige. He wants to adopt another cat. I do too, but just not right away. I’m going to do some research, I think and look at a couple different breeds this time. And if something happens to cross our path in need of a good home, then so be it. I believe Neige would want it that way. And this way, we can also keep her memory green.
I’m also sorry for your loss (I think)
Sorry I can’t read the dark blue against the black, as far as I can tell you have lost 2 cats very close together. *hugs*Dragon Master wrote:I’m also sorry for your loss (I think)
Sorry I can’t read the dark blue against the black, as far as I can tell you have lost 2 cats very close together. *hugs*Sorry, DM. I’ve gone back and changed the color on the original and second large posts. I didn’t realize it was hard to see.
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