Show Crissy some love

Crissy lost her beloved Tiga today. I know her heart if broken, she had her for almost 15 years and she was a beautiful kitty.
I am so sorry Crissy, I know she was a huge part of your lives.
Love and Hugs to you

Crissy, I'm so sorry for your loss, we were just talking about Tiga Saturday.
I know just how you feel since I lost my beloved cat Dugout on New Year's day,
he had been a part of my family for 14 years. I still look for him every morning.

Loretta

Loretta, I am sorry you lost your kitty too, they mean so much to us.

So sorry Christine that you lost Tiger!!! I know the 2 of you had been through a lot together. I know you will miss him!!

No words really convey how sorry we feel for your losing Tiga. I have seen several pictures of him and he was a beautiful MaineCoon. (sp) It is a sad adjustment to not having our furbabies under foot all the time. I hope you heart mends quickly Christine. Lifting you in prayer for peace and comfort of the heart. Cindy

Loretta and Crissy, I ache for both of you. No one can understand the love that one has for their family pet unless they have fallen in love with one before. I am so very sorry.

LOL y'all, Tiga (Teega) was a female OOPS!!

Thank you so much for all of your warm thoughts about her, she was a wonderful smart cat and she's going to be very missed. I just wish they could live as long as we do. Here's some pics of her...

Another, this was in Modesto, she loved drinking out of that faucet!

Here we are back in AR at the house we live in now. I have thousands of pics of her I'm sure, just have to take time and do a memory album of her very soon.

Loretta do you have any pics you want to share of Dugout? Big big big hugs coming at you too!

Crissy, just reading about Tiga, and wanted to say I am so sorry about you losing her. She was a beauty!! I know you will miss her and her companionship. Love and hugs to you.

Crissy, I am a lurker, but just wanted to give you a Big Hug. I know the feeling when you lose a beloved pet. They are our children, after all.

Thank you keepingactive!! You have the right idea there!!

I have found that the mornings are definitely the worse part of the day. That's when she told me that my alarm was going off, that I needed to get out of that yucky shower, and cooed to her bowl for breakfast. My routine in the mornings is completely messed up. Dave got up this morning and he's feeling the brunt too, he said in a bummed out voice this morning, "I guess I'll go get some compost sometime today while it's still out of season and cheap."

Here's another, I haven't been dating some of these pics! This one was taken sometime in 2010, it's fairly recent, probably October or November.

Oh I know you miss her so bad. If you are like us when Shorty died, we did not want another cat, but there is a kitty somewhere that needs a good Mom like you, Crissy

Sandra we want to do some traveling while we don't have a pet. Yes another kitty is in the works, but not right now, maybe in a few years after I have gotten over Tiga somewhat. If I got a cat right now everything she would do would be compared to what Tiga did and I don't like that. It would take away some of the loneliness I feel every morning and emptiness I feel at night, but I'm just not ready. Dave wants a small dog, so I might go that route instead of a cat, or get a puppy and kitten at the same time. I don't know yet.

This morning isn't any easier even though it's Saturday, I keep thinking she's going to come in and want to be a big kitty in the window like she did every sunny Saturday and Sunday.

I did go through my pictures on my computer at work yesterday and put all of Tiga's pictures into one folder, that was very therapeutic as I could compare 2003 from 2010 and see how much she aged and how her body and more so fur color changed. She completely changed colors and I never really noticed it was so gradual. Today I'm going to go fix her grave and make it look like a grave and not just a place on the property where we dug a hole then covered it back up. I was going to make one, but I went ahead and ordered a little head stone too. I'm going to make a version of this instead of the headstone:

http://www.michaels.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Michaels-Site/default/Search-AdvancedSearch?cgid=entire&simplesearch=Search&q=pet+memory+box

Dave just went outside to start digging in his compost, think I'll head out too and start on Tiga's grave. I'll check back later!

That will be so sweet, I went outside and played in the sun a little today too. It was a beautiful day here, it will take some time for you to get used to a new routine. I don't have a cat in the house now, but have 4 outside and a stray that has been here since it snowed. I think it was thrown out on us, it is so scared of me-it will run every time I open the door.
I miss having a cat in the house, but don't miss the hair that gets on everything.

We had a busy one, and I made it a good day! Dave went out this morning and did some gardening in the veggie garden, after I posted here I went out and found Tiga's grave, it was about 10" over to the left than I thought it was, I had my hand shovel because she's buried very shallow because the ground is sooooo hard out there. I was looking at the leaves and kept saying, "This wasn't just dug up. This wasn't just dug up either." I finally stuck my hand shovel in the ground and up came some red blanket that she's buried in. OOPS sorry Tiga!! Then I went up a little and found where the blanket ended, then realized that I was walking all over her body! OOPS Sorry Tiga again!! So I found her grave and cleared all of the leaves off of it, added a few more inches of dirt on top, Dave's going to add more later this week, and I decided to find some big rocks and make a circle around her, this place grows rocks and I was looking and looking and low in behold I found a big stack of big rocks right beside me! The Lord works in mysterious ways! So I got that done then found a bucket of lilies, so I planted those on the outside of the rocks but I'm 2 plants too short but I have other lilies around here that I can get roots off of, again no biggie.

THEN me and Dave went to Lowe's and bought potatoes, onions, and garlic, came home and planted all of that!! Even as busy as we were, Tiga never once left my mind. I wasn't a bawling fit, but she was always the only thing I was really thinking about.

I've been a little sick this morning. We went out last night because a friend of mine is in town for the weekend and we were home by 11:30pm. I got gas around 2am and felt like I was going to get sick, so I moved to the spare bedroom so I wouldn't wake Dave up, and took a Rolaids too. I slept until 6, but I woke up and here it comes, down and out! I don't know what I ate, if it was the chicken soup Dave made for dinner, the prime rib sandwich we ate when we were out, or the chicken sandwich I ate when I got home, or a mixture of them all just didn't settle well, or if it's just nerves and has finally came to a head. Dave got up this morning and said he had severe heartburn all night too, we ate the same exact things all day yesterday.

Wow, crissy, your Teega looked alot like my Thunder, and they both looked like they were Mainecoons which is a certain breed of long haired cats. Mine lived to be l6 before we had to put her down.

She was a sweet cat , We both will miss our cats, it s tough loosing animals you love. I had to loose 3 of them all last year.

Sorry to hear about her.

Thank you so much KA!! Sending you a big ((((((((((HUG)))))))))) I was wondering if you still had Thunder, what happened to make you make that extremely difficult decision? I couldn't imagine losing 3 animals in the same year. You're a tough girl! They were Maine Coon Cats, no doubt! When I get another cat it will be another Maine Coon, the shedding gets out of control sometimes but the joys of having one of those wonderful breeds supersedes that ten fold.

Dave wants a small dog so we might go that route next time, Tiga was 7 years old when I met Dave.

You know he loved you then if he "loved her cat"--lol ! I can't remember that old country song that had that line in it.

Kathy Ann, do you let the new dog in the house? How is it doing now?

He definitely 'loved her cat' LOL Sandra! She drove him nuts though. He's taking it way way different than I am, part of me understands and part of me doesn't.

I did have a better morning than the last 5, even though I went to get dressed and realized that I forgot to wash my work clothes! I've never forgot to do that!! So I was staring in my closet and had nothing to wear! LOL!!! Saturday morning was very hard as the sun was shining and I'm used to having a kitty in the window soaking up the sun. That's what baffles me, she was so alert and spry and how in the world could something that alert and spry and feisty just pass away like that? I mean, I know why... but WHY????

I was visiting my next door neighbor yesterday and another neighbor just sold his house and him and his wife stopped by to spread the news. She asked me if I want to become a Master Gardner! Apparently Hot Spring County has classes coming up in February with a new mentoring program and she wants to mentor me! I thought, "What a way to keep my mind busy!" I might go for it but I need more information, she gave me the phone number to call, so I'm going to do that sometime today! I'm nervous because I don't know her, I know she's on husband #6 or 7, which is probably where the leery is coming from, and I know her name, and that's about it.

Crissy, I am not in anyway trying to compare our grief, but in a way I felt the same way when Mamma passed, she was in such good health, but the answer is, life was finished, in both of our cases. God has his own reasons for the why and how, but God alone is the giver of life, and in control of life.
Did you just come home and find her? I don't think you told us what happened?

Sandra this is exactly how I felt when my grandfather passed away, we can talk about whatever, compare whatever, it doesn't matter. Talking about it seems to help some.

Oh shoot! I thought I told y'all what happened.
Remember she had been on Steroids for 3 1/2 years because of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
We're going to back up a little here. She had been going lethargic now and then off and on for short periods of time for probably about a year or so, each lethargic episode was very slightly worse than the one before. She went lethargic about a week before Thanksgiving for about 2 days, I really thought that was it and she was going to pass away then, I even told her that if it was time then it was ok, at least I was home for the holiday. She came out of that but couldn't use her hind legs to jump at all, so after Thanksgiving I took her to the vet, of course the morning of her appointment she came out of her 'stiffness' completely so there were no signs to show the vet at that time. He took her blood work, said he had a real hard time getting blood from her but I told him she had been lethargic so she's probably dehydrated, he said that her blood work was as good as a 1 year old kitten's blood work and counseled me a little about having an elderly animal and he's not up for costing patient's parents unnecessary expenses when there's nothing he can do, of course he could do some of the tests that they do on humans if the parent wants to spend the money, but there's still no guarantees that he could do anything anyway. Dave said it was probably an arthritic episode and the pain made her go lethargic as that was our first cold snap of the season.

I noticed about a week and a half before her death that she couldn't jump up on things very good again and she was walking with her butt kind of tucked under herself, just a little, like walking around like an old lady. Didn't think much of it except upping her joint pain meds a little that she had been taking for her hip dysplasia in her left shoulder she's had since she was probably 4 years old.

I was getting ready for work last Tuesday and she was fine, other than the walking like an old lady thing, so I gave her her usual hugs and pets and told her I would see her when I got off work. Dave called me at work at 3:30pm and told me he had found her and she was gone. I was just beside myself, how could she be gone, just like that??? So I left work and went home. After we buried her he told me that he thinks she stroked out, she started walking really funny, like off balance, around noonish and it seemed as though she didn't have her equilibrium. He said at oneish she went lethargic and put herself to bed. He checked on her then, then checked on her an hour after that, at 2, and she was sleeping. He checked on her again, at 3, and she was gone. He was trying to figure out the words to say to me because he knew he had to call. He said, "Honey, I really don't know how to tell you this but I have some seriously bad news, so I'm just going to say it. Tiga is gone, she passed away while she was sleeping, I found her about 30 minutes ago."

Sounds to me like she had been having strokes for a long time and we misinterpreted it as arthritis. I'm just wondering if steroids cause blood clots.



This message was edited Jan 31, 2011 5:11 PM

Well, I know you were not expecting to lose her like that. She really had a long life for a cat though, we are never ready to admit to ourselves that it is time, for our pets and our families.
We had a black lab named Midnight that we got when we moved into this house in 1984, he lived a long time and grew up with the older girls, it just about did me in when he had to be put down. He went under the house and could not get up to come out, he had turned gray all over his muzzle and we knew he was very old, so Jerry crawled under the house with a sheet and got him on it and drug him out, then he took him into the woods and shot him. I knew it was for the best, he was sl sick he could not stand up-but it sure hurt.

No I figured the Irritable Bowel Syndrome would kill her, or it would get so bad I would have had to put her down. I never once in a thousand years thought she was having strokes. I'm still surprised she didn't pass away on Thanksgiving.

I'm very thankful for having her so long and the fact she died naturally and I didn't have to put her down, that would have tore me up! I did think the other day since I can't get her out of my head that maybe I should have had her cremated and put in an urn, but then I thought, "Yeah right! Every time there's a tornado close by I'm going to want to take her urn to the storm shelter with me and that's not happening, she's better where she's at and completely protected from such weather. I had thought a couple years ago before Dave got laid off of getting her a plot in a cemetery close by, still kind of regretting not doing that even though we really don't have the money for it.

Thunder had kidney failure, which is exactly what happened with Trixie too. dude was hit by a car and the vet said he couldn't put him back together again ;0) I smile alot when I think about Dude. We still talk about him alot.

No we don't let Riley in the house. I'll have to start him on flea control soon, and we didn't have him checked for heart worms either. so I'm not sure if he has them or not. He's doing quite well, and has gained a ton of weight, He loves to play , and knows when I walk out side that he gets to play with me. of course I need to go shower when I'm done cause he's been all over me. but oh well. He's very shy till he warms up to you, and this has to happen every day when I get home, kind of like starting all over again daily, but he's doing well. I thought danny founda hom e for him but I guess not, so I told him I would keep him if he didn't mind, He stays home too. and doesn't poop in the yard ha. How amazing is that. lol

Christine I had 2 cats before we got Charlie. Both of them died in the same year. Lucy was 18 and had kidney failure and I had to have her put down. Like you and Tiga we had been through a lot together. I had her before I met Richard. I rescued her from the animal shelter. Sarabeth was 15 and she had a huge growth in her throat and I had to have her put down. I'll always remember those cats, they were really special.

AWW KA, tough times there. That's awesome about Riley not leaving home or pooping in the yard!

Wow Charlotte. Animals in general are special and I'll admit, I wasn't into cats when I got Tiga, my grandfather planted in my brain that cats will come and go, you can't train them, you don't own them because they own you, and dogs are so much smarter. I found that's not true at all, Tiga was very easy to train, smart, and she never even tried to run off.

I've lost one other animal, my Samoyed, Snowball, when I was 18, he had Congestive Heart Failure and died while getting groomed. That didn't kill me like this, I was sad and cried and all but not for this long, I think it's because of my age, I had just graduated high school and had a ton of friends to do things with every day.

I went petless until I was 24 when malnutrition sick Tiga showed up and I tried to give her away as I was dirt poor and didn't have the money to put into a pet but no one wanted to nurse her back to health, so I kept her and that was the best thing that could have ever happened.

So the material I bought to use for Tiga's memory box came in and I don't like it, it's way too busy!

Well, I like it and when you get her picture in the frame, it will calm it down some, have you picked which picture to use yet?

I want to put hearts on the front next to the picture frame and her name on blocks under the frame, can't do that with the material. I like the material as a whole, just not for this project. I'm going to just paint it and make it Tiga style. The fabric has two different cat names on it, catnip that she didn't like, milk she didn't like, and it's just not her. I don't have a pic yet, I have thousands to go through that might be my project for the weekend, I might start it tonight if I feel like getting the boxes out.

Crissy, I'm so sorry about Tiga. I know you are missing her. Hugs to you.

terrye

Thank you so much Terrye! I got the phone call 7 days ago today at 3:30pm. Maybe I won't be looking at the clock then. The pain is subsiding so that's good, I can start living life again knowing she's out of her old worn out body and dancing and prancing and eating all the delicious food that she wants too without any complications, and no stupid strokes either, if that's what she was having, what do y'all think?

I often think that I wish I would have seen that, maybe could have done something for her. More than likely not though and that would have added another problem stacked on top of two other problems, and without the steroids she would have passed away 3 1/2 years ago, so I gave her the best longest life I could have, if every cat could be so lucky.

That is true, so many kitties have no home, there is a stray that lives in the woods here that would sneak up and eat with my kitties when the snow was on the ground, other than that he--I think is a he--lives on the land I guess. The one that is under the house is still here too, guess it--can't get a close look at it to tell anything--lol-has moved in.
So if you count the wild one in the woods---that makes 6 eating--not counting the coon that is always coming to see if there is anything left after dark !
I have loved cats since I was a small child, I love dogs too, but I guess deep down I am just a cat person.

I like both, but cats seem to be more loving and softer, but I like each one for different reasons. We don't have any cats in my neck of the woods at all, but there are about 50 dogs that the owners let run loose all the time, then when something happens to them they want to blame whoever for what happened to their dog. They let their dogs run loose expecting everyone else to take care of them, that's not the way it is, if you own an animal you need to take care of that animal.

Sandra that's so sad about the kitties, but if they're wild there's really nothing you can do except what you're already doing, feeding them. I never had a cat until I got Tiga when I was 24.

Oh , Christine ...I am so sorry about Tiga...she was a beautiful cat. Hugs to you and Dave!
Yes, I think I am a cat person as well, we have 9 of them!

I know it is hard now , but it really is true that the best cure for a broken heart over a beloved pet , is a new one. They will not ever take their place , but it helps fill the hole in our hearts.

We lost our Rottweiler , Isis a couple of years ago, we had had her for over 9 years and we just got a new one that was 5 1/2 weeks old on Halloween..her name is Kira and she is the new light of our lives. Looks so much like Isis and is just as smart as she was too. We are so blessed that we got her!

LOL Sharon! I would say you are a cat person! When the time comes we will get another animal. I know when Dave's not there it's very lonely in the house, but Dave wants a small dog so we'll probably do that instead of another kitty. Tiga was already 7 years old when I met Dave so she's not someone who came along for the two of us, he had to adopt her because I would always choose the animal over the man. LOL

Do you want the coon or the possum that keeps coming up on my porch to eat the cat food??? I would be glad to give you either one--they are both nice and fat from stealing the cat food !!!

LOL!!! I'll take the coon but he/she will probably starve because we have no food!

You can sure have it--the possum was the visitor tonight--ran it off twice already !!!

Those things are nasty! Overgrown rats they are!

Crissy, sorry to be so late in posting as I am just trying to catch up - so sorry you lost your beloved baby..... They have such a way of getting into our hearts and become such a big part of our lives....as it should be! I hope that your pain is easing and that you are enjoying lots of wonderful memories!

Genna