I have been a lurker in this group for a few years. I've laughed and
cried through all of your stories.  My beloved cat Weasie
(July 1990- June 2005) went to the Rainbow Bridge this past Saturday,
June 18. This is her story.

When I was 14 a neighbor down the street took in a cat that had a
litter of kittens in her garage. My younger brother and his friend
brought one of the kittens to our house to show me. Being an animal
lover (and never being able to resist a kitten) I decided then and
there we had to have one. Our previous cat Samantha, a Siamese, had
passed away a few years earlier at the age of 17. My mother was very
attached to that cat and devastated when she died. She was reluctant to
get another cat but I begged and cried and pleaded until my parents
finally broke down and said yes. My father took us to the neighbor's
house where there were several orange and white kittens.  Right away I
saw the kitten I wanted.  She was the fluffiest and had the most
stripes. I was in love.

We took her home and my mother named her Weasie after Weasie Jefferson
from the t.v. program The Jeffersons. The name was a good fit. Weasie
was feisty and full of personality. She wasn't always the friendliest
cat. She didn't bother or want to be bothered with people she
didn't know. She would often let you know when she was through being
pet with a bite to the hand. She loved to sit in laps. She was always
MY cat. The rest of the family loved her but found it hard to get close
to her because of her temperament. She was always with me. She spent
most of her time in my room. She slept with me every night. We grew up
together. I would talk to her and she would always seem to listen
intently. I had a bond with her that I've never had with any other
cat. She was so intelligent that she seemed more like a little person
than a cat. My parents didn't realize at the time how important
spaying was so when Weasie was 6, she became pregnant and gave birth to
a single kitten. We kept him and named him Simon and he still lives
with my parents. I was supposed to be going to school the morning that
she went into labor but she wouldn't let me leave. She kept following
me to the door. She wanted me to be with her. I stayed home with her
and she gave birth and continued to take care of her baby in my bedroom
closet. She was an excellent mother.

When I got married 5 years ago and moved from home to another state,
Weasie came with me. She made her first long car ride, and all of the
subsequent ones, without a peep. She took to my husband immediately and
loved him just as much as she loved me. We spoiled her. She was like
our child. She always wanted to be with us, next to us, on top of us.
One of her favorite things to do was to lay down in between us, even
forcing us apart by walking all over us until we moved so that she
could be in that spot. We called her the "In-the-Middler." We had a
million nicknames for her. She mellowed with age and became a really
sweet & gentle cat who just enjoyed being with the people she loved.
She loved to be pet on her head, chin and ears. She liked to put her
feet on us so she would be touching us as she slept or lounged beside
us. She enjoyed sleeping on our pillows and especially on the top of my
pillow above my head. She slept in our bed every night, enduring our
tossing and turning.  She just wanted to be with her mama and daddy all
the time.

A few years ago, we felt a lump on her stomach. We took her to the vet
and he removed it. It turned out to be mammary cancer. About a year
later, she had another lump removed. During this time she was not sick
and continued to enjoy life. In March of this year we discovered
another lump. We had it removed again. When she came home from surgery
she crawled right into my lap, she just wanted to be with me.It was
sweet. It took a little while longer for her to recover this time, but
she did. Everything was fine until about 2 weeks ago when we noticed
that she had become a little bit thinner. She was still a healthy
weight so we just figured she was older and didn't have as much of an
appetite. Then she became too thin. She was wanting to be alone more.
She wasn't as interested in food. We made an appointment for the vet.
The day before we took her she refused to eat anything more than a tiny
bit of tuna and some licks of milk. Her eyes were yellow. She wasn't
herself. We knew it wasn't good. We prepared ourselves for the worst
and spent our remaining time with Weasie loving her and petting her and
saying our goodbyes. It was so hard. We took her to the vet who told us
what we already suspected. Her organs were failing. It was most likely
that she had undetectable tumors in them. There was no cure, only a
couple possible ways to extend her life. She had nothing left. We knew
anything more would be for us and not for her and that the quality of
any extended time would not be good.  It was so tempting to try more
but when she soiled herself in the carrier in the vets office, we knew
we had to do what was best for her. We decided to let Weasie pass
peacefully before she would have to endure any more pain and suffering.
It was a quick and relatively peaceful death. It was also the hardest
thing I've ever done in my life. My heart is broken. I feel like
I'll never stop hurting. The house feels empty without her. I can't
believe she's gone. We decided to have her privately cremated and her
ashes returned to us. So she can be with us always, in our home and in
our hearts.

I could go on and on about Weasie, but I'll stop for now.  Thank you
to everyone who has read this far. She was a very special little girl
who was a huge part of our lives. We miss her so much.

Here is a link if you would like to see pictures of Weasie:
http://community.webshots.com/user/kristyln

Kristy