By: Kimberlee

Kimberlee — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:44:37 +0000

Thank you for posting this. I found it moving myself, as I read it with my cat in my lap.

By: Angie Pohlman

Angie Pohlman — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 23:06:01 +0000

Thank you, pattrice, it has really been hard (as I am sure you know) dealing with other humans while grieving for an animal. I am sure some one crashed with you, do you remember their color (if he was black, it was Che, if she was a greyish calico, Gani).

By: pattrice

pattrice — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 18:51:29 +0000

Oh, Angie, I am so sorry for your many recent losses but so glad to hear about the loving care you gave to Che, Gassy, and Juri. I hope that you and Gani are taking good care of each other in your shared grief. I do remember cats from when I came to speak at your school. Didn’t one of them crash on the bed with me?

By: Angie Pohlman

Angie Pohlman — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 14:39:38 +0000

Thank you for a great discussion on cats! Cats have always found their way to my doorstep. I had four cats living with me (a low number for me) a little over a year ago; Che - I call him my first born, the first cat that I cared for after moving out of my parents house, Gani - a friend found her as a kitten in his grandma’s yard, my boss at the time took me there to get her and found that she was very skinny and had a thick coating of mites and fleas (pattrice, I think you may have met both of them when you came here?), the other two are Gassy, a cat that came to my family’s home when I was 14, my father was moving and decided he didn’t want this old kitty any more, and Juri, who literally appeared on my doorstep about 2 1/2 years ago, skinny as a rail and amazingly lovable. Last summer, Che began to quickly lose weight, the vet said that he had a cyst on his kidney and had less than a month to live. He was 5. Che died at home about a week later. It was horrible, I hadn’t experienced grief like that since my mom died about 1 1/2 years before. A few months later, Gassy began to lose weight and stopped eating. I took her to the vet on a friday, she was still undergoing testing when she died on Saturday night. She was 12, so the vet said it was probably old age. Then it was just Juri, Gani and I, we moved into a single apartment, where they became good friends. It had been about a year since Juri had been to the vet, so I took him to get a check up, and the vet noticed his heart beat was funny. She said it is something we will have to watch. About four days later, I fed them breakfast, and turned around to put my shoes on, and turned back to say goodbye for the day, and Juri was on the ground panting. He died within a few minutes, the vet guessed it was a heart attack. Needless to say, it has been a rough couple of years. Gani and I moved in with a friend who lives with 6 cats and 2 dogs. Gani has had trouble getting used to the new situation, I think she was still grieving when we moved. She stays in my bedroom. For me, I love being in a house full of cats again, I don’t know what I would do without cats. Sorry! Rambled. Thanks for the story!

Comments on: Why Kittens Wreck Your Life

By: Kimberlee

By: Angie Pohlman

By: pattrice

By: Angie Pohlman