Subject: I visited a shelter!
Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 17:44:52 -0400

All the peer pressure here had gotten to me, so I visited a local
shelter!

The cats they had were all very adorable.  They didn't have many
kittens yet, but there were a few.  This was the first time I'd
actually seen and touched kittens!  I've only been around adult cats
before.

Anyway, I was more interested in the adult cats, because I don't know
if I would be up to *raising* a cat.  I'm just a person, not a momcat!

There was one tabby and white, about two years old, I think, that was
a real ham, but she had a note on her that said that she doesn't get
along with other cats.  She was also very social with people.  I felt
that she should probably go home with someone who's home more than I
am, so I regretfully concluded that I shouldn't adopt her.

There was a young tuxedo girl, about three years old.  Her tag said
that she was shy, but it sure didn't show!  She loved to have her head
scratched.  She had a little beard, sort of like Marina's Frank, but
you can't see it in the pictures because she was facing sideways.

Oh, I didn't mention that I took my camera with me and took a couple
of pictures of the tuxedo girl, so I'll have to put them up later.

They kitties there were all so adorable, I think it would be dangerous
for me to go back. :)

There were a few other interesting things I saw there, but I'm a bit
busy right now, so I'll have to talk about them later.

Subject: Re: Oh, TAAaaak
Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 18:44:59 -0400

"Karen" <kchup...@earthlink.net> wrote:

Thanks, Karen.  Those were nice links.  But I have my hands full right
now with Betty!  She's calling me right now!

Subject: Re: Purrs and Good Wishes for Takayuki
Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 22:56:05 -0400

Tanada <tan...@earthlink.net> wrote:

Thank you so much, Pam!  I think you've succeeded - but it's really
hard to use the computer now, because Betty is lounging on my lap
purring and headbutting my arm, making it a bit hard to type!

Maybe I won't take on quite this many owners, though. ;)

Subject: Re: Tak - how was the first night?
Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 16:20:03 -0400

"Stacey" <stave508M...@rochester.rr.com> wrote:

This sounds like the bride's mother calling during the honeymoon. :)

It was mostly uneventful.  Betty seems to have a very good sense about
people.  When I lay down, she immediately hopped on my chest and lay
down facing me, and after a bit of scritching, she reached out her paw
to touch my cheek.

When I finally decided to go to sleep, I slid Betty's portion of the
covers off me. :)  She went off somewhere, but would call me from time
to time from outside the door.  I talked to her a little, until I fell
asleep.

In the middle of the night, I groggily looked around, and I found that
Betty was curled up on my left on top of the covers.  She slept there
like that all night, and didn't get up until I did.  When I woke her
up by stirring around, she talked a little, then climbed on top of me
to knead my stomach a bit.

It's pretty clear that she was a very domestic and well socialized cat
before she came to the shelter.  She's adjusted to everything
immediately.

Subject: Bringing kitty home
Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 18:27:12 -0400

Does anyone remember the first day bringing your kitty home?  The car
ride, opening up the carrier, and the rest?

I remember how it was with Betty, because it only happened last week.

At the shelter, when the workers brought out Betty in a big cardboard
carrier, what a surprise it was!  I had just finished discussing
microchipping with them, and they already had her packaged and ready
to go like a Chinese takeout.

I guessed when the alternatives for their cats are living in a cage
and euthanization, they just want a cat to move out the door.  It
saves a life.

I heard Betty's voice for the first time.  It was muffled by the box,
but they were sad "Mew, mew, mew" sounds.  She was unhappy to be
inside the strange dark box.

I carried the meowing box out to my car and put it inside.  I'd done
it.  I got Betty.  Now I needed to take her home.

During the car ride, Betty never stopped crying.  When I talked to her
to reassure her, she would answer loudly, "Mrow!"  That meant, "I'm in
here, let me out!"  But as the car ride progressed, her cries became
weaker and weaker.  Car rides can be tiring.

We finally got home, and I put Betty's box down in the middle of the
kitchen.  She was still crying, and I could see her pawing at the air
holes.

I opened up the top of the box, and there she was!  She popped right
up to look around.  It didn't seem to bother or surprise her that she
was in a strange house.  She was just glad she wasn't trapped in a box
anymore!

She seemed to want out, so I tipped the box a bit, and she stepped out
into her new home.

She trotted around, her whole body expressing instant approval and
excitement.  She sniffed all the furniture and rubbed against them to
mark them.  She sat in front of the sliding screen door to look at the
outside.  I went up to her and offered my hand.  She looked up at me,
trilled and headbutted my palm, rearing up on her hind paws to get
better leverage.  She then went from room to room, sniffing and
investigating everything, coming back to her human every once in a
while for reassurance.

When I sat down at my desk to read rec.pets.cats.anecdotes, Betty
meowed a demand.  It was obvious she wanted up, so I picked her up and
planted her on my lap.  I found that she was remarkably velvet pawed,
very careful not to damage her human as she explored the new lap.  She
lay down languorously and reached out her paw from time to time to
touch my chest.

Subject: Betty's suicide threat
Date: Thu, 22 May 2003 21:58:00 -0400

Betty usually receives a lot of attention and cuddles.  She gets
carried around the house like a baby, joins me in floor stretches and
situps, and of course, there is laptime, which she can never get
enough of.

At the end of the day, there is sleeptime.  Betty's absolute favorite
sleeping position is on top of me, which I generally allow except for
certain brief periods at night when I feel like shifting around, when
I'll move her to the crook of my arm.

As a matter of fact, I think that going to sleep would be difficult
for me now without Betty's dark furry face staring into mine.

But last night was a little different.  After getting into bed,
Betty's human didn't immediately assume the sleeping position.  No, he
lay down on his side to read a book he had just borrowed from the
library!

Betty was a little confused.  This was supposed to be cuddle time!
She pawed at the open book, peering over it curiously.  Her human just
patted her on the head and flipped a page.

Drastic measures were called for!  Betty peered over the book again,
planted her chin on the edge of the front cover, and put her weight on
it.  She started to make strange gurgling, strangled noises.

At this point, I looked up in alarm.  Betty's eyes were huge, looking
like they were popping out of her head, and she she was vibrating and
gurgling.  She was hanging herself in protest!  Look daddy, your book
is killing me!

I put the book down.  Betty nonchalantly climbed on top of me and lay
down for a long purr.

Betty's Gandhiesque efforts at passive resistance had gotten her her
rightful sleepy time.  And freed her people - for cuddles.  Funny
little fungus cat.

Subject: Betty's meowmie
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 2004 18:59:01 -0400

This is bedtime story as told to me by Betty.  I don't know whether
it's based on fact or is fictional.

When I was just a little kitten, my meowmie picked me.  She looked at
all my brothers and sisters and said that I was the best behaved.  I
wouldn't tire her out or bite or scratch.  She picked me up and I
snuggled against her cheek and purred.

From then on, my meowmie was always with me.  I loved my meowmie and
spent all my time with her.  I would nap in her lap as she sat in her
chair, and sleep on top of her when she lay in bed.  She was almost
always in her chair or in bed, so I never needed to sleep on anywhere
but on meowmie.  She told me that I was good kitten, and I purred.

As I grew into an adolescent kitten, meowmie told me that my being on
her all the time was bad for her circulation, but she was just
kidding.  She needed to rest more than before, so we spent more time
napping together.  Meowmie said that I was a good, quiet kitty, and
that I never woke her up, except when I washed my bum while sitting on
her tummy.

One day, someone came to visit meowmie.  Meowmie tearfully told me
that we had to part.  Meowmie had to go somewhere that takes care of
hoomins, but places that take care of kitties are different.  I was
put in a carrier and I cried and cried for my meowmie.

At the kitty shelter, I was put in a little cage.  There were lots of
strange smells and noises.  There were lots of other kitties, but I
couldn't see them very well because they were in their own cages.  The
hoomins there kept my cage very clean, and fed me good food, but I
wanted meowmie, and I wanted a pillow.  I used my litter pan for a
pillow, even though it was kind of hard.

Sometimes, people would visit.  Sometimes, they would even look at me,
but I stayed in the back of the cage.  There was no place to hide, and
it was all still very new and scary.  Still, I loved it when hoomins
scritched me.  Meowmie had always scritched me.

One day, daddy came.  I didn't know yet that he was daddy.  He would
stay at the shelter for a long time, and he gave me lots of scritches.
He told me that I was a very good and beautiful kitty, and he even
took pictures of me at the shelter, and put them my own web page!

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/Takayuki9z/shelter1.html

Daddy finally took me home - a new home, and I was so happy!  Life is
like an adventure.  Just like with meowmie, I sleep on daddy's lap,
and on daddy's tummy, though not as much as before with meowmie.
Daddy moves and plays more than meowmie did, and he seems more like
another kitty than a hoomin sometimes.  He showed me how to sleep in
the sunshine in front of the window, how to catch bugs, and how to
play with the cat dancer.

So daddy is very different from how meowmie was, but I think I love
them both the same.  I sometimes wonder where meowmie is, and I wish I
could tell her that I'm okay.

Thanks for posting these, Tak. Betty was such a sweet girl. I'm glad that
you have these stories to remember her by and I hope you enjoy reminiscing.
Sometimes its all too easy to forget the details.

Kathryn

I think that is a very good idea, Tak. Every once in a while, I go back
and re-read Frank's chronicles to relive some of our adventures and
revive my earliest memories of Frank and Nikki.

<gentle snip>

Definitely, it's OK. It sounds like you are finally on the path to
healing. I'm so relieved for you. And thank you for reposting the
beginning of your life with Betty. It made some nice, though
bittersweet, reading. Have you revisited the young black cat that you
met on Thanksgiving? I think you should. ;)

I'm so glad you posted these, Tak.  A the time you were adopted by Betty I
was off on a sojourn to the mothership and I didn't get to read about the
beginning of your relationship with her.  Thank you for the lovely stories,
and thank you for loving and caring for Betty so very well - it ended up
that she needed someone very special and you fit the bill perfectly.

I very much enjoyed reliving this too! She was such a cutie and just meant
for you. I know it has been hard, but no one could have been better for her,
despite what you think!

I have found that the grief of losing a very special companion animal to
which you seem to have an almost spiritual bond is no less than losing a
human family member.  In some ways it's worse -  if you've had to make what
I call "the awful decision."  Then you get the guilt to go with it.
I almost never admit this in real life as most people cannot understand. I
feel that it's okay to say it here.
I've had two special dogs.  I've had others that I have loved but not in
that all-encompassing way that I cannot explain.  Both times I couldn't see
how I could recover from the grief.  It seemed to go on for ever.

One day, out of the blue, instead of the sad memories of the final illness
etc..a happy memory popped into my mind about taking her on holiday to the
seaside and how impressed the hotel owners were with her good behaviour. And
I was proud.
I am so happy that you are starting to get the nice memories back, Tak.  The
process of healing has started.
I hadn't discovered the group when you first got Betty.  I'm enjoying
reading about it.

Tweed

Tak,
I've always loved your posts about you and Betty.  Reading them again makes
me a little sniffly because they are so sweet.
I'm so glad that you are now able to remember and enjoy the memories.  These
are the essence of Betty.  These memories will always keep her alive in your
heart and in ours.
Annie

Thanks for posting these Tak. I enjoy reading them very much. You have such a
kind soul. Betty was lucky to have you in her life.

Randy

http://picasaweb.google.com/crmartin1

http://kittenwar.com/kittens/74045/

Thankyou for sharing these with us Tak; it is wonderful to hear about all
the lovely things she did. Betty will always be very special.

Tak,

I'm very sorry for your loss.  I didn't know your girl passed on to the
Bridge. Please accept my sincere sympathy.

I remember these posts when you first got Betty, believe it or not.  This
was a great idea and a wonderful way to honor such a special little lady.

Hazle Az

That was a lovely walk down memory lane. I am glad you are healing.

--
CATherine

Although I mainly lurk on RPCA, I've been doing so for many, many years,
and I had read all your original posts about Betty.

Of course, I had forgotten most of the details, so seeing them again was
a real treat.

Having 2RB kitties myself (Lucky, 6/9/99, and Blizzard, 4/10/01) I know
the unrelenting pain that comes with losing a beloved kitty.

Your bond with Betty was especially strong; that was very, very clear
from your posts about her.

The pain never, ever, goes away. But it slowly gets better, as I am
happy to see you are discovering.

Purrs for your slowly healing heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Life without cats would be only marginally worth living."
-TC, and the unmercifully, relentlessly, sweet calico kitty, Kenzie.

How you behave towards cats here below determines your status in Heaven.
- Robert Heinlein

Life is very difficult. Once you understand that, life becomes easier.
-Buddha

it is not at all selfish, sharing memories of love is always uplifting to
the reader, Lee

Thanks for posting these Tak. I enjoy reading them very much. You have such a
kind soul. Betty was lucky to have you in her life.

Randy

http://picasaweb.google.com/crmartin1

http://kittenwar.com/kittens/74045/

Thanks for these posts Tak.  It was nice for me too to remember the
beginning of your relationship with Betty.  I'm glad that it brings you some
comfort as well.

Susan M
Otis and Chester