Thursday, July 06, 2006

In memory of my girls

Holly Lisle posted about the loss of one of her cats, Winnie, today. It made me think about how much I miss my girls, Feline and Billy. In fact, I was just discussing this with my DH last night. He said they're up in cat heaven, cuddling, with an endless supply of catnip.
Despite the fact that Feline died about 10 years ago and Billy three, I still think of myself as the girl with two cats. I still talk about "my girls." They will always be a part of me even though they are not physically with me. Those of you with pets will understand.

Billy, left, and Feline - my girls.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

aw they're cute.
i have one cat, she's had her problems and at one point we thought we were going to loose her, but three years on she's still with us despite only having one good kidney and she's still as cute as ever.

btw, what does DH stand for?

Anonymous said...

sally: I'm glad you're kitty is okay. DH stands for dear husband.
redchurch: There are three reasons why I didn't get new kitties. One, I know I would love the new kitties, but it just wouldn't be 'my girls.' Two, if they live to be almost 20 (like my Billy Button did) I will be almost 60. I am having a hard time with that. Three, I plan to do a lot of travelling before 60, so it wouldn't be fair to them. I did, however, adopt a rescue doggie. Her name is Pif and she's an angel from heaven.

Jean said...

Gorgeous girls. It sounds like they had a very rewarding life with you.

Do your traveling, and after 60, adopt a couple more to keep you company. :)

Rene said...

Yes, I've been in that spot. Now I have two tortoises that I can be pretty sure are going to outlive me. They aren't real cuddly but they will come by and say "hi."

Kelly (Lynn) Parra said...

They look like loveable cats, Nienke. Sorry you lost them, but glad you have great memories of them. =D

Deanna said...

This is when the thought "everything has a purpose" comes to mind. It's good for the soul to reach down and pluck out the positive experiences and feelings that we once had and to remember those connections and apply them to the here and now. We had a lovely, queenlike,funny but unfortunately kind of evil (to other four legged creatures) german shepherd... who has now been gone for over a year and a half. We had our moments with her... (her jaws locked around our other german shepherds neck, that kind of stuff). Now our girl has a stuffed shepherd, with Cicely's collar and tags on it... I love the sound of her jingles, and it brings back good memories of her just being present in our life.Continue to talk about them.. it's a guaranteed smile everytime.

Anonymous said...

Hello, Michele sent me.

I recently posted about my loss, too. However, I was not very close to my fish but I was still saddened buy the event. One thing about pets (cats and dogs especially) is how they do become part of you. Their relationship to you is unique and helps define who you are by how you interact together. Sorry for your loss - the fact that time has not stopped you from missing them shows how much you loved them.

Anonymous said...

Yep, I understand alright.

Sayre said...

I lost my 16 year old cat to cancer recently. He was an amazing cat and We all miss him very much. But we've never been without cats. They come into our lives in such a way as to overlap. Seems like when one goes another arrives. We're down to two now (we started out with 4) which is a comfortable number. They're brothers about a year apart and have great personalities. But they're still not Tux...

Shesawriter said...

Hugs Nienke. I still mourn my pets. Each one of them still occupies a special place in my heart.

Anonymous said...

Ohh, sweet kitties! They look like they gave lots of love and cuddles. Hugs!

Robin said...

They are absolutely adorable, and you are right, they look like they were definitely one(s) of their kind!

It is interesting what you said about turning 60 around the time your next animals may be departing; just within the last few years, my mom lost the last remaining cats from my high school years, and now I face the same future you speak about with my current animals (I turn 40 this year.) I never used to understand people who said, "I'm not getting anymore animals because they don't live long enough" and now that I have dogs, I really DO understand this. How do I choose to adopt beloved children that I know I must let go of forever...most likely before they are old enough to vote? It is a wonder we can be pet lovers at all with all of the grief and loss we face throughout our lives. The love I feel and receive is definitely worth it to me, but I can understand avoiding those feelings.