I have been lurking for awhile and have been impressed with what a nice
bunch of cat slaves you all are.  I've been meaning to introduce myself and
my herd of cats but today I had one of those days that all pet slaves
dread--I had to say the final goodbye to one of my dearest.  The following
is my tribute to my sweet Tortle.

Dear Tortle,

You have been part of my life for almost ten years.  You are much too young
to leave me.  I remember when I first saw you--tiny enough to fit into my
pocket.  You were the mistress of the inaudible meow even then, although you
broadened your repertoire into a wonderful assortment of meows, maus,
mrrrrraghs, and other untranslatable verbalizations.  You have been with me
through many other difficult farewells--you would sit on my shoulder
(sometimes on my head!), your head pressed up against mine, purring,
purring, purring.

You were beautiful--as only a tortoiseshell kitty can be.  Soft,plush light
colored tortie fur competing with the odd bit of orange tabby--big, round
green eyes.  You looked so different from your brother Hailey--he always was
bigger than you, long haired color point manx that he is.  But you could
always outrun him.  I remember you chasing him, screaming like a banshee,
just for the hell of it.  You made me laugh.  Even after you'd gotten a
little older you were always playful--more than any other of my cats you
always acted like a kitten.

I still remember the time you inadvertently got chased outside at night by
Kellie, our dog;  I remember my DH having to climb the neighbor's fence in
only his socks and underwear and a flashlight clenched between his teeth, to
catch you and how he only found you by your eyes shining in the light.

I have a row of puncture marks on my side of the table where you would hook
the table with one paw, asking for some attention (and the odd bit of people
food you could purloin).  I remember you sitting on my DH's chest, kneading
biscuits so very vigorously he'd sometimes cry out in pain.  When you were
sick, you'd crawl under the covers at night for warmth and comfort--I
finally had to kick you out of the room as you began to recover because in a
joyous ecstasy you'd give me love bites and you'd bite hard.

You've been seriously ill several times--once with pancreatitis and then
last year with acute kidney failure.  Each time you fought it (and any
medical intervention) with great diligence and vigor.  You lost your best
cat friend, Molly, last spring when you were so sick.  You battled back
stronger than ever and the last eight or nine months have been an absolute
joy.
I knew that you might eventually lose your battle with your sick kidneys but
I was hoping to put it off, put it off indefinitely, maybe forever.  But
hoping doesn't always work.  You left me much too soon, you should be
enjoying many more years with us.  You got sick so quickly--Saturday you
looked perfect--today I'm saying farewell.

Goodbye, Tortle, sweet dreams--I will be looking for you when I reach the
rainbow bridge.  I miss you so much.

Bonnie