"Feline Friday": as 2006 ends...

A couple of new photos ~ ~

Prue and Phoebe are now getting along fine.  Remember, Phoebe came to us in August, was a 'basement kitty' for several months before she trusted us enough to join our family.  Just a few days ago, Beau and I came home and found the two of them on the sofa...together.  Look at their identical poses!  Caught Prue having a nice big yawn. 

Genavieve, who is Prue's daughter, still prefers to hang out alone.  She spends a lot of time outdoors, but during the night will sleep somewhere on my bed near me.  I think here Gena is gazing at the Christmas tree, wondering which gifts were for her.  The kitties all got stockings, of course!  New shiny pom-poms and catnip mice to play with.  

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Last year at this time, we had 5 cats.  Kashmir, Shadow, Prue, Genavieve and Jinx.  3 boys and 2 girls.  Things happen, and life changes ~ pets and loved ones come and go.   Now we have the 3 girls ~ Prue, Genavieve and Phoebe. 

Kashmir now lives with my son's father and will be 15 years old on Valentine's Day.  They both moved out last February.  David and I got him together as a tiny kitten in 1992, and I miss him ~ but it's okay, he's happy with David, who I really don't miss. This is my favorite photo of Kashmir, taken a year ago. 

Shadow.  Beau's birthday present on his 4th birthday.  Shadow was 6 years old on April 1st of this year, which is also the day he went missing.  David had taken him over to his house to visit Kashmir.  He was there less than 24 hours, David's father's cat beat him up, and he left.  I think I am more heartbroken than Beau is.  He just refuses to think of Shadow, because it makes him so sad.  He also blames his Dad for taking him over there.  Indeed, he should not have.  Quite upsetting, not knowing what became of beautiful Shadow.

And the handsome little black Jinx.  Never really wanted here to begin with, brought home May 2005 by my troubled eldest stepson ~ who never took care of him, of course that task went immediately to me.  Jinx was very unhappy when Phoebe came here in August.  He began to pee all over the place, and I had to throw away an area rug from the basement bedroom and the beautiful 8x10 area rug we had in the living room.  He also, I think, was sick ~ and I told David he had to take him, that obviously he was never 'my' cat and I don't have the money for vet care.  He picked him up, took him to his house ~ and Jinx took off from there.  So these are my last posts of Kashmir, Shadow and Jinx, now they are cats from my past.  It's been quite a year of change and adjustment, and we all are just hanging in there.  Okay, so I know this is a photo journal and not my 'writing' journal, and I usually don't put this much out there...but it's such a time of reflection for me.  I guess I don't feel happy that a new year is beginning, but sad that another year is ending. 

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One more somber note, (please don't be too upset with me, Mom) I want to pay tribute to my Mom's cat Moses, who very unexpectedly died just yesterday afternoon.  He was 11 years old, and apparently had a major heart attack/stroke episode that paralyzed his back and legs and made his breathing very difficult.  They rushed him to an emergency vet office, where he received an injection to end his pain.   Beau and I were at Mom's yesterday afternoon, and I was sitting with Moses, petting him and scratching him all around his ears.  How unreal it is to think that he was living his last couple of hours, and we had no way of knowing.  I'm so very sorry for the loss of Moses.  In the past, Moses had been a commenting kitty in several editions of "Feline Friday" and once or twice, had his picture featured as well, along with his adopted sister Mitzie.

Rest in peace, lovely white Moses.

 

The final "Feline Friday" of 2006 is here, at (sometimes)photoblog.