This Post is several days late because I have been dealing with some health issues that have kept me tied up and unable to get to my computer. (I don’t do this on my phone!) I seem to be improving now and while I’m not back to “normal” (whatever that means), I think I’m better enough to be able to get this post up now, and I hope to continue improving so that I can get back on schedule with my next post, due around the 23rd to 25th. We’ll see…. I have no plans to go away, but the schedule may be a bit odd for a bit.
Anyway, here’s the post I had planned for July 9th.
A few weeks ago, we lost Bellatrix, one of our cats. Now, I am NOT going to get all sloppy and sentimental about the idea that she went to Kitty Heaven, and is happy there, etc. She was, after all, just a cat and when you’ve had as many of them as we have, you learn that it’s likely that you are going to outlive them, or have to find them a new home, or SOMETHING, so they won’t be with you forever. That’s just the way life works with pets. Now, Bella was a fully mature cat when we got her, and her litter-sister, Narcissa, (yes, we named them for two of the Black daughters in the Harry Potter books) several years ago.
They were born (we were told) in 2009 and we acquired them in March of 2021 because we had recently lost an earlier cat and our daughter, Maggi, encountered the two of them in an adoption place while she was seeking additional cats for herself. (Yes, both of our daughters are also “cat people.”) She thought that our only having ONE cat at the time was a shame, AND these two were litter mates who had been together all of their lives, AND they had had their front claws removed (they had been “declawed”), so they needed a safe, relatively quiet place to pass the rest of their lives, since their “little old lady” previous owner was no longer capable of taking care of them.
That made them 12 when we acquired them, so they turned 16 this year, which is really quite elderly for a house cat (roughly a bit over 80 in human years, I’m told) so we were very sure that they were unlikely to be a problem for our heirs. And, Bonnie and I are quite convinced that Bella had some sort of stroke, or something similar, about December 19 of 2021. On that occasion she was extremely lethargic, walked badly (when she tried to walk), held her head a bit cock-eyed, ate almost nothing and, basically, appeared to be on Death’s doorstep for several days. Then, on the 24th, she perked up a good deal and was almost normal for the rest of her life. Now, I have to admit that she NEVER really seemed to have recovered completely, but she didn’t seem to be too far from it until her recent, last, illness. Call it a “Christmas miracle” if you wish. I can’t explain it, but I did watch it happen.
What I am suggesting is that we both knew that a 16 year old house cat, in less than perfect health is probably living on borrowed time and, when our Vet told us in the middle of last winter that Bella had “stage 4 kidney disease,” it seemed unlikely that she would last too much longer. That does NOT mean, however, that she isn’t missed, now that she’s gone. She was always relatively placid, not too much of an “active, playful, jump around” sort of cat, at least for us. Her sister, Narcissa (Cissy), is MUCH more inclined to that sort of thing, but she’s not exactly young either.
In any case, a bit of time having passed, I thought I’d see what I could find in the way of pictures of Bella and do a post of them with some memories. I suspect it will do me some good, as I DO miss her, as one does when one loses a pet.
Here’s a nice (I think) picture of Bella in happier days, standing on an armchair in my basement office from a while back when she was pretty healthy. I include it because that’s really how I think of her, and it shows her coloring and her bitty bob tail, which I thought was very cute, never having had a truly bob-tailed cat before. This is how I think of her.
Anyway, here’s the post I had planned for July 9th.
A few weeks ago, we lost Bellatrix, one of our cats. Now, I am NOT going to get all sloppy and sentimental about the idea that she went to Kitty Heaven, and is happy there, etc. She was, after all, just a cat and when you’ve had as many of them as we have, you learn that it’s likely that you are going to outlive them, or have to find them a new home, or SOMETHING, so they won’t be with you forever. That’s just the way life works with pets. Now, Bella was a fully mature cat when we got her, and her litter-sister, Narcissa, (yes, we named them for two of the Black daughters in the Harry Potter books) several years ago.
They were born (we were told) in 2009 and we acquired them in March of 2021 because we had recently lost an earlier cat and our daughter, Maggi, encountered the two of them in an adoption place while she was seeking additional cats for herself. (Yes, both of our daughters are also “cat people.”) She thought that our only having ONE cat at the time was a shame, AND these two were litter mates who had been together all of their lives, AND they had had their front claws removed (they had been “declawed”), so they needed a safe, relatively quiet place to pass the rest of their lives, since their “little old lady” previous owner was no longer capable of taking care of them.
That made them 12 when we acquired them, so they turned 16 this year, which is really quite elderly for a house cat (roughly a bit over 80 in human years, I’m told) so we were very sure that they were unlikely to be a problem for our heirs. And, Bonnie and I are quite convinced that Bella had some sort of stroke, or something similar, about December 19 of 2021. On that occasion she was extremely lethargic, walked badly (when she tried to walk), held her head a bit cock-eyed, ate almost nothing and, basically, appeared to be on Death’s doorstep for several days. Then, on the 24th, she perked up a good deal and was almost normal for the rest of her life. Now, I have to admit that she NEVER really seemed to have recovered completely, but she didn’t seem to be too far from it until her recent, last, illness. Call it a “Christmas miracle” if you wish. I can’t explain it, but I did watch it happen.
What I am suggesting is that we both knew that a 16 year old house cat, in less than perfect health is probably living on borrowed time and, when our Vet told us in the middle of last winter that Bella had “stage 4 kidney disease,” it seemed unlikely that she would last too much longer. That does NOT mean, however, that she isn’t missed, now that she’s gone. She was always relatively placid, not too much of an “active, playful, jump around” sort of cat, at least for us. Her sister, Narcissa (Cissy), is MUCH more inclined to that sort of thing, but she’s not exactly young either.
In any case, a bit of time having passed, I thought I’d see what I could find in the way of pictures of Bella and do a post of them with some memories. I suspect it will do me some good, as I DO miss her, as one does when one loses a pet.
Here’s a nice (I think) picture of Bella in happier days, standing on an armchair in my basement office from a while back when she was pretty healthy. I include it because that’s really how I think of her, and it shows her coloring and her bitty bob tail, which I thought was very cute, never having had a truly bob-tailed cat before. This is how I think of her.
As I indicated before, for most of her life with us, Bella wasn’t really all that affectionate to me, although neither of the girls were antagonistic towards me. However, Bonnie has been the one to feed them most frequently, so SHE was the one they bonded to the most, EXCEPT, of course, for each other. I said they were litter mates and it certainly showed. For example, here’s a picture of Bella keeping an eye on her sister. (NOTE half-open eye watching sister!)
Actually, the two of them spent a good deal of time “keeping each other warm,” as shown above, and below.
Curled up NEXT to each other, as above, was, actually, quite common, but occasionally, one or the other (most often Bella) would take the responsibility for the other’s warmth quite far, as shown here:
Still, they didn’t spend ALL of their time sleeping. While both of them displayed the common cat habit of “investigating” boxes which came into our home, I think Bella engaged in this more often than her sister.
Perhaps she learned from this experience that she should examine the situation quite carefully before committing to even trying a box out. I say this because, not long after the above incident, I got the following pictures.
So, here’s Bella contemplating whether THIS box would suit her needs/desires.
So, here’s Bella contemplating whether THIS box would suit her needs/desires.
Apparently, she decided that THIS box was worth the effort of at least “trying out,” so she gave it a go.
AS I remember, she enjoyed this box for as long as we left in around for her to play in.
Especially towards the end of her life, Bella became a bit more affectionate towards me than she had commonly been earlier in her life with us, so I do have this “selfie” of the two of us. It isn’t a very flattering picture of me, but that’s okay, ‘cause I took it to have a picture of her.
Especially towards the end of her life, Bella became a bit more affectionate towards me than she had commonly been earlier in her life with us, so I do have this “selfie” of the two of us. It isn’t a very flattering picture of me, but that’s okay, ‘cause I took it to have a picture of her.
Anyway, Bella’s gone now. If there IS a “cat heaven,” I hope she’s there, feels good and is happy. I am well aware that I’m being silly, but I do miss her, as I miss ALL of our pets-gone. Most people who have (or HAVE had) pets know that losing a pet is not a happy experience. But, just as we have in the case of friends and family who are gone, we have memories, and the very human desire to spend time remembering the “Good Times” we shared. That’s how I feel about ALL of the pets (cats) we have lost, too.
If you’ve ever lost a pet, you know what I mean. I hope you have many good memories of them, as I have of mine (ours).
Forgive me, if this has brought you down a bit. That wasn’t my intent. I just wanted to spend a little time remembering my Bella.
I plan to be back in a couple of weeks, with something a bit more cheerful. Please join me.
🖖🏼 LLAP,
Dr. B
If you’ve ever lost a pet, you know what I mean. I hope you have many good memories of them, as I have of mine (ours).
Forgive me, if this has brought you down a bit. That wasn’t my intent. I just wanted to spend a little time remembering my Bella.
I plan to be back in a couple of weeks, with something a bit more cheerful. Please join me.
🖖🏼 LLAP,
Dr. B
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