Remembering Lily

Straw Hat Day

It has been a year since our sweet Lily went to the Bridge.  Time does fly.  I still wish I knew why we had to lose her so young.  With feral cats tho - there are unknown circumstances in their origins - where did she come from, was there inbreeding and what was her environment like?  So many things could have contributed to her cancer at age 9.  I had hoped with love and good food she would live a long life. That was not meant to be.

Having a tender moment with Only

I want to share my last conversation with Lily thru an animal communicator.  When I know a cat is seriously ill, I talk to my animal communicator to find out how each cat wants this to go down.  It helps me make decisions for them. 2015 was a tough year for me - I lost my brother in law, my favorite aunt and several life long family friends along with four beloved cats.  In hindsight, what Lily told me during her session with the animal communicator was preparing me for the rest of last year. It was a very spiritual experience for me.

Snuggled on my bed

Lily shared with us that since she had done this so many times before, she had no fear of dying. She was already leaving her body off and on, traveling to the other side. I asked Lily if she wanted to be with all her offspring in the cat house but she assured me that she was already communicating with them and preferred to be with me.

Keeping watch

At the time I did not know I would shortly  lose three other cats, but Lily emphasized that she would be there to greet and welcome the others when it was their time to go to the Bridge.  Lily explained to us that she was going thru this cancer now, to help teach me about about death and dying.  To Lily, death itself, was beautiful and easy. My communicator said Lily showed her a most euphoric vision of the afterlife. 

She loved to eat

Lily was not concerned about her age - there was no time on her life line, for she  had no beginning or end. Lily knew she is not her body, that she is infinite.  

Lily also told us that she  had been with me  before in other lives, and that her work with me is not over. She would be my guardian, very available to help me understand. She told the communicator that "All is OK, there is no need for anything to be different.."

It was a hard session to hear but it did help me understand  so many things, especially when to let go. Lily asked for gentle treatment, non invasive.  When things became more difficult, she wanted me to free her from her body.  That is how it played out.  The day she left us, she was no longer able to eat and was in noticeable discomfort.

I did call on Lily's spirit many times last year - to help me know how to care for  Minnie and Georgie.And when to let them go.  In life Lily was my buddy, my companion, always nearby, ready to help.  I talked to her all the time.  I still do. I mentioned in her tribute last year, (read it here)  that she was the epitome of unconditional love, mother love.  She was and still is.  Thank you dear Lily for sharing your life and lessons with me and for still being there for me until we meet again.

The quote I used on her tribute is even more appropriate  after all I went thru last year. - here it is again.

"When animals enter our life, we start on a journey filled with adventure, learning and love.  The animals reach deep into us and change us in ways that can hardly be described.  We grow in love.  And upon their leaving, we are lost, devastated.  Over time, we explore the story and see the meaning, and stand in awe of these remarkable beings.  What an honor they give us when they walk a part of our lives with us."

-- Barbara Janelle

Lily in front with Two Spot and Only

P.S. Several of you have reached out about my health.  I went to the doctor for my vertigo and she seems to feel it is allergy related.  It still comes and goes.  When it flairs up, I cannot use the computer or watch TV.  It is best to rest.  I have never had this before so it is taking some adjustment.  It seems to be lessening as the weather warms up so I hope to be able to be back online more.  Thanks for your concern.

Until We Meet Again Sweet Lily

  This one is hard to write.  On April 7 we took our dear Lily to the vet for the last time.  The cancer had grown to fill her mouth and she was not able to eat or drink.  In spite of this, she was as loving and silly as always, right to the end.  Her passing was easy and peaceful - she was ready.  Don and I were loving her as she crossed over.  She would have been 10 this spring.

Lily with her babies outside

 What can I say about this cat who was the embodiment of love?  She had an amazing life for such a short one.  She gave birth to three litters outside and all survived to become wonderful cats themselves.  She was smart enough to not get caught in our humane traps and taught the kittens to keep clear of us - it made trapping them all a challenge for sure.

She was a mother to us as well.  Lily was the one who would be sitting with us if we were not well, ever watchful.  She was always on hyper alert - listening for unusual sounds of alarm.  She loved to sit looking out our windows, keeping an eye on things.  I looked forward to coming home to her  face peeking through the screen.  I knew I had left everyone in good hands.

Even tho she was able to live her life with most of her kittens, she was a stern mother at times.  She had little patience with them.  If they got too rough or playful around her, she would hiss or whap them.  Often she preferred the company of non family members like Ivy.  Ivy, being our oldest at 17, brought out the maternal in Lily - they were always together.  When I read in bed, Ivy sat on me and Lily would lay next to me with her head resting on my body.  Oh how I will miss that.

Ivy and Lily

 

 She could be so silly as well - diving into the refrigerator whenever I opened the door, looking for treats, letting me dress her in costumes for the holidays, begging for a lick of butter with Ivy when I ate my breakfast muffins.

Punk Lily

 

Lily was stubborn, independent, and strong willed, all infused with an incredible unconditional love for us. While all the other cats would be sleeping the days away, she followed us around the house, involved in every activity.  She didn't want to miss a minute of life with us.  She slept only when we were not home or sleeping ourselves.  Perhaps she knew her time with us would be short.  I will end this tribute to our beloved Lily with this quote.

Under the Christmas tree

"When animals enter our life, we start on a journey filled with adventure, learning and love.  The animals reach deep into us and change us in ways that can hardly be described.  We grow in love.  And upon their leaving, we are lost, devastated.  Over time, we explore the story and see the meaning, and stand in awe of these remarkable beings.  What an honor they give us when they walk a part of our lives with us."

-- Barbara Janelle

Thank you, Lily, for sharing your life with us.  We will see you again one day.

Lily for Caturday Art

It is me Lily for the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by Athena - this is our first entry, we think.  Mom took this of me in the kitty bed and made it look like a painting.  Pretty cool.  

As you all know, I have cancer in my mouth and was not doing too well but the vet gave me a shot of a mega anti inflammatory on Tuesday and I have been doing MUCH better since then.  I am very busy all day, watching birds, hanging with my beans, going on the porch to get some fresh air and even eating a little bit on my own.  I know this is temporary but it sure feels a lot better than a week ago.  The vet told Mom we can get two more shots if this one starts to wear off and I feel yucky again.Thank you all soo much for the kind comments and purrs for me.  They do help Mom get thru this and I know they help me feel better for a lot longer.

I am just enjoying each day and living in the now.  Isn't that what we all are supposed to do anyway?

Thankful Thursday with Lily

We wanted to update everyone on Lily and thank you all for the purrs - she is stable for now.  To recap, she had surgery to have teeth pulled and the vet found out she had cancer.  Since the surgery she is not able to eat on her own so Mom is assist feeding her, plus giving her lots of nutritional, herbal and anti cancer supplements.  Mom vetoed the surgery - too disfiguring.  It seems chemo and radiation don't help much either for this type of cancer. Mom will try to get by and visit you all but taking care if Lily is her most important job right now.

Mom talked to an animal communicator and Lily told her she does not want any upsetting treatment - she prefers the gentle less invasive way.  She is OK with her illness and will let Mom know when it is time to go.  The communicator told Mom that Lily is already going to the next world and coming back - when she looks like she is in a deep sleep.  Mom hopes that she just slips way one day when she is asleep.  We are just taking one day at a time.  Lily still enjoys watching the birds, going on the back porch on warm days and spending as much time with Mom and Pop as she can.  Please keep the purrs and prayers coming for her - we want her to be with us a bit longer and to be comfortable.  The post below is reposted from 2009 when Lily told how she came to live with us.


Lily wants to tell her story today!

I am the momcat for all of the white kitties plus Woody and Tabitha. I showed up at the old general store across from Mom's house one summer a few years ago with a litter of tiny black kittens and one white one. The beans at the store fed me and tried to catch my kittens. I was not happy and taught them to not to go in that cage even if food was there. My black kittens disappeared - I hope they got nice homes but I never saw them again. Snowball was the only one left and he stuck to me like glue.

The store closed for the winter and we were left with no food and were very hungry. It was cold and snowy outside and our stomach grumbled empty. Someone told Mom and she started putting food out on her back deck and even made us a place to sleep safe and warm, out of the snow and wind under the house. She tried to catch me and Snowball too but we were smart and escaped. Mom firmly believes in TNR - that means trap, neuter and release! But I got pregnant again and had another litter of all white kittens this time with one tabby - Woody. I am a very good mom so they all grew up and were healthy.  Mom made a place for the kittens to play on the deck with a kitty condo and stuff.



Those mancats would not leave me alone and I got pregnant again - all this time poor Mom was desperately trying to catch me to stop me from having kittens. She was so nice to me but I would not go near her or let her pet me. I was afraid. Being a mom is my job so I would not go in the trap no matter what. I would pull the food to the side and pull it out with my paws.



Mom did catch Snowball first then all the others at once - Norm, Woody, Sam. Since Mom was moving to another town she could not TNR us and leave us outside cuz no one wanted to take care of us. She asked all the neighbors too and shelters. The shelters were going to put us to sleep. I didn't like the sound of that. She knew she had to take us all with her when she moved, so she put the kittens in their own special indoor space with a screen porch.



Finally I had one more litter under the house - again all white cats with one tabby who is Tabitha. These guys were real cute and by now Mom was getting friendly with me and the kittens. She caught all of us a few months later by propping open the door to the back porch and enticing us with food and toys to come in. Then she pulled the piece of wood holding the door open and we were caught! It was scary when she and Pop tried to catch us and bring us inside but now we are happy and safe and no more babies for me.

We live in a nice shelter with a screen porch and have lots of toys, treats and food. The chipmunks and birds play outside and we can watch all day. Mom and Pop spend lots of time with us and we love it. We are all friendly now except Smidge and Sam sometimes. I guess we are pretty lucky.

Mega Purrs for Lily

We had hoped to get back to blogging for fun but got yet another shocking bit of news.  Our dear sweet Lily, age 9, mother of the white cats, has oral squamous cell carcinoma.  The vet removed a mass under her tongue for the biopsy but since the cancer involves her tongue, more surgery would not be an option.  It would leave her unable to eat.  I know a feeding tube could be used but this would be for the rest of her life - not a a good quality of life as I see it.,

I am treating her with nutritionally and herbal treatments to make her comfortable and help slow the cancer growth.  The vet is looking into chemo or other treatments for this.  I ask for all the purrs, prayers, healing energy you can summon up for our dear girl.  My heart is broken.  I can't lose her!

Update on Thankful Thursday

Two Spot

Two Spot posting for us today.  Sorry about our long absence.  We have had a rough few weeks.  As you saw in our last post, Pop lost his older brother to cancer.  We are all very sad about that.  Thank you so much for the kind, comforting comments left on our blog and Facebook page.

The Pop got back from being with his family (Mom had to stay with us as there are so many special needs cats now) and came down with a very evil stomach virus which he promptly gave to Mom even tho she was trying very hard NOT to catch it.  They were both sick for days and then very tired and weak after.  We didn't have any cat food in the house so Pop get himself together enough to go get some - only one brand!!! Imagine that? Boy were we upset!  On the upside Mom was able to give Georgie her insulin and test her blood even tho she was sick.  We are glad that is over with!

Georgie birdwatching

Georgie is doing very well - no surgery needed.  Mom changed her from lactulose to Miralax and that is working wonderfully. Georgie is doing "her business" a couple of times a day and all is going well.  Snowball was switched to Miralax too and is doing just dandy!  Yay for Miralax.  Thanks for all your suggestions, comments and comfort during this episode.

Snowdrops

Our weather has been mild with no snow.  Mom is glad as she comes from MA and they are getting slammed up there!  Our snowdrops and crocuses are blooming.

Crocus

We have another health issue - it seems Lily had a bad tooth.  She underwent surgery today and two teeth extracted plus the vet did a biopsy of the inflammation under her tongue to make sure it was not the big C. Lily did well and will be on an antibiotic for the teeth extraction.  We may have to have another auction for this, so stay tuned.  Purr for Lily please - she is a special girl and the Momcat of all the whitesters.  We need her to be well and certainly NOT have that other thing.

Sweet Lily

Come back by for our Valentine celebration - it is our Pop's birthday and the beans anniversary too.  A big day in our house.

Wishing You a Peaceful Holiday!

Lily here (that's me in our holiday card) to thank you for all our ecards and snail mail cards.  Due to the illnesses of both Georgie and Snowball during the past weeks, Mom didn't get to post your cards on our blog.  She sent some out and emailed some (many came back for lack of postage!!!) - if she didn't get to you, please take our card with sincere apologies.

Georgie is still not well - she is not eating or "doing her business" in the litter box.  Nothing showed in her blood work or during the exam.  If things have not changed by Friday she will be x-rayed at the vet, hopefully showing some reason why this is going on. Meanwhile Mom and Pop are taking turns assist feeding Georgie to keep her blood glucose up and to prevent fatty liver disease from not eating. Please purr for her to get well.

Me, Lily under our tree.

The holidays can be tough on those who are having upsetting things going on in their lives at this time.  With this in mind, our wish to you,  is to have a peaceful Christmas filled with the love of friends and family, both two and four legged..

Happy Halloween!

Lily goes punk!

Happy Halloween to one and all.!  Mom only posted one post for this week even tho this is her favorite holiday.  Just too much going on along with two Gotcha Days coming up on Nov 1 and 2!  Busy busy busy!

Without further ado, we would like to announce the 2014 Halloween costumes - Lily and Sweetpea.

Sweetpea doing her impression of a lazy chef.

And for the skittish whitesters who will NOT let Mom put a costume on the we have some tongue in cheek costumes with Two Spot and Smidge modeling.

Two Spot as quarterback (hehehe)

Smidge going as an Identity Thief

  We posted this before on previous Halloween's but this is a house that Mom drives by on her way to work - they go all out from Halloween until St Pat's, changing the color of the lights and theme with each month!

We thank you for stopping by and hope you will come back for both Gotcha Days - Callie's on Nov 1 for her first  one with us and Snowball's on Nov 2.  Have a fun, spooky All Hallow's Eve!

P.S. We have a winner for the goodie bag given away for the commenter who guessed first who Al was named after on his Gotcha day post - Caren and Cody! (Mom will get your address)

Happy Straw Hat Day - May 15

Tabitha models her lovely white straw hat with pink ribbon.

 Today is National Straw Hat Day - the day when you put your felt hats away and take out you cool and comfy straw hats for the summer season.

None of us are real big on wearing clothes, props or hats so Mom did her best to dress us in straw hats.  Tabitha and Lily were willing to cooperate but Two Spot just hid under his hat!

Lovely Lily tries out her "Come hither look".

 Ever wonder how certain hat sayings came into being - well here are the origins of some:

Hold On To Your Hat(s)
A warning that some excitement or danger is imminent. When riding horseback or in an open-air early automobile, the exclamation 'hold on to your hat' when the horse broke into a gallop or the car took-off was certainly literal.

Two Spot hides under his!

Mad As A Hatter
Demented, go mad. Hat-makers use to inhale fumes from the mercury that was part of the process of making felt hats. Not recognizing the violent twitching and derangement as symptoms of a brain disorder, people made fun of affected hat-makers, often treating them as drunkards. In the U.S., the condition was called the 'Danbury Shakes,' as Danbury, Connecticut was a hat-making center. Mercury is no longer used in the felting process and hat-making is safe. 

At the Drop of a Hat
Fast. Dropping a hat, can be a way in which a race can start, instead of a starting gun for example. Also, a hat is an apparel item that can easily become dislodged from its wearer. Anyone who wears hats regularly has experienced the quickness by which a hat can fly off your head.  

Bee In Your Bonnet
An indication of agitation or an idea that you cannot let go of and just have to express. (A real bee in one's bonnet certainly precipitates expression.) (from the Hat Trivia page)

So grab a straw hat and have a great day today! 

P.S. Mom apologizes for not getting by to visit - she has been sick since Straw Hat Day.  Hopefully tomorrow she will feel up to blogging.

Happy Birthday Marg!

Callie, Lily, Ivy and all the rest of us Cats of Wildcat Woods (and Mom Cheri) would like to wish our friend Marg a very Happy Birthday! As you can see Callie has her party hat on....

Lily has the noise maker out...

and Ivy has the confetti ready!  Hope you are having as much fun at your house as we are here celebrating your special day!  Wishing you a wonderful day Marg, and a year of all good things!

 

Thanks to Ann of Zoolatry for making this super graphic to honor you.  If you want to join in and wish Marg a Happy Birthday go visit her blog Marg's Animals. and leave a message for her!

Thankful Thursday - A Kong Review

Callie checks out the package from Kong

A few weeks back we were asked to review a package of kitty goodies from Kong.  We are always thankful for free samples to try out.  We never seem to have enough green stuff for all our needs. Well the package arrived and we got a cardboard scratcher, tub of catnip and a package of treats.

Lily wants to try the treats.

 We opened the treats right away.  Mom had been looking for some kitty treats to replace Temptations which we love but Mom says the ingredients are not what she would like to be feeding us.  Kong Moist Treats are made from duck, chicken, cranberries and blueberries and no wheat, corn or soy or icky preservatives or colorants.  Most of us loved the Kong treats - Ivy scoffed them up so fast  we couldn't get a photo of the treats and her.  But others like Only did not care for them and left them uneaten.

Ivy licking the floor after she ate the treats.

Only did not want his Kong treats.

 The Kong scratcher on the other hand went over very well.  Two Spot went right to work on it as soon as Mom put it down.  We needed a new one for the cat house so it worked out well.

Two Spot getting a work out on the scratcher.

Our neighbor cat Jack even got to try some catnip and he gave it paws up!  So overall it is a paws up on the three items from Kong - Mom will get some Kong treats for us to eat instead of Temptations!

Jack likes the Kong catnip