Thank You All

It's been 2 weeks since we had to send George to The Bridge.  We got his ashes back and he is now resting in a lovely wooden box in the antique secretary in our living room, next to the chair where he sat every evening with his Dad.

My husband and I would like to thank everyone, old friends and new, for your kind words and wishes.  They truly touched us.

In 8 1/2 years, I have met, learned to love and cried over the loss of so many great cats.  It has been wonderful to know that all cat lovers are the same no matter where in the world we live.

I have thought about whether to continue this blog and have decided to stop.  George was an extraordinary cat and, as such, was the inspiration for most of what I wrote.  I know some who have lost their cats have stopped blogging and others have continued, but I hope everyone will understand that my heart just isn't in it any more.

Thank you to all who followed Crew's Views faithfully.  I am going to leave the blog up since I do want to visit our old friends from time to time.

George is at The Bridge

Our dear furry boy, George, was helped to The Bridge yesterday.  He'd been fighting kidney disease for years and last week the vet said he also had anemia and diabetes.  His weight was down to just 6 lb.  Earlier this week he stopped eating and even the appetite stimulant pills didn't help this time.  My husband and I agreed we wouldn't put him through anything else and decided to let him go gently and painlessly.  We had been mentally preparing for this for the past 6 months when the kidney disease went to Stage 3 and we didn't expect him to last this long.

I always said George was a dog, or in his words "a dawg", in a cat's body.  Everyone says their cat was special, and they all are in their own way, but George was really different, more like a dog.  He was like no other cat we ever had, not aloof and independent but insisting on being with us, interested in every minute detail of what we did, "snoopervising" everything, and needy to the point of exasperation when we were trying to do something important while he demanded attention.  He would always get up to greet us when we came home and, unlike the other cats, we always knew where he was - not far from us.

I grew up in a home filled with cats and dogs.  When I married, we had cats and a dog, but for some reason they were always female.  My husband and I had been married 20 years when we lost two 14 year old littermate sisters within a month of each other.  We said "No more, we can't go through this again", but, of course, after a few months our home seemed very empty.  We went to a local shelter and there was a stray mother cat that had birthed a litter at the shelter.  George and his littermate sister Gracie were adopted at 10 weeks old.

I chose George and my husband chose Gracie, but George immediately bonded with his "Dad".   Never having had a male cat, I didn't realize what loverboys they could be.  We nicknamed George "The Love Sponge" because no matter how much love you gave him, he wanted more and more.  Dad was George's person.  He would follow my husband everywhere meowing loudly to be picked up, wait for him on the sink or toilet seat while my husband showered in the morning, then meow to be held on his shoulder and carried to the kitchen.  He would be with my husband every chance he got.  If my husband wasn't around, then George would settle for second place....me.  For years, he slept between us on the "big bed" and would not allow himself to be moved.  He was very persistent and always got what he wanted, no matter how long it took.

When Gracie died suddenly at 6 years old, we could tell George was distraught. He walked through the house, meowing, looking for his sister everywhere.  After 2 weeks of that I began worrying that he would make himself sick so we adopted Tipper to be his companion.  The tiny kitten immediately turned George's mood around and she became the "mother hen", bathing him and cleaning his ears.  She did that until he left us.

When we adopted Max then Misty as kittens, George adapted very well.  Max bonded with George, adored his older brother and followed him everywhere, trying to be near him.  Even when Coco and Dixie were adopted recently, mellow George was OK with that.  He was just so easy going.

George was always healthy until about 5 years ago when he was diagnosed with kidney disease.  We truly didn't expect him to live until 17 1/2 but are grateful for all the extra time with him.

We have Tipper, Max, Misty, Coco and Dixie, so our home is not empty, but there is an empty place in our hearts that no cat will ever fill. 

I will be taking a break from blogging and considering whether, after 8 1/2 years, I want to continue doing this without George.

A Kitten Update

DIXIE

Well, we've been in our forever home for a while now so we thought we should tell you how we're doing.  Our new Mom has been sleeping in our room with us so we can get used to her.  We like her a lot 'cause she holds us and says how much she loves us. 

COCO

When we came here our new Mom fed us the same food we were eating at our foster home.  But then we both got bad dear ear so Mom went on the innerweb and saw about kittens and what we shouldn't eat and we shouldn't eat food with corns in it.

DIXIE

What are corns?

COCO

I don't know, but don't eat them.

DIXIE

OK, I won't.  Well, now we eat Blue Buffalo kitten food and my dear ear is all gone and we're growing a lot!  And we get dry food and food from a can and

COCO

and we REALLY like that!  Our new Mom calls "Babies, babies" and we come running 'cause it tastes good.  My dear ear is getting better now.  Our new Mom used to call me "Little Stinky" 'cause my dear ear was bad and then I would step in it and she had to wipe off my paws and, um... my uh...

GEORGE

Your Spot 13.

COCO

What?

GEORGE

Your butt.

COCO

Ohhhhh, right.  I understand now.

DIXIE


The cat called Misty that lives here doesn't like us and hisses all the time.  She growls at us, too, but we're not afraid of her. 

COCO

Our new Mom doesn't want Misty to get all upset, or maybe hurt us, so when she lets us out of our room she puts Misty in a different room.  Then we can run and play and there are all kinds of toys for us, too!

DIXIE

There is a girl and a boy that come and play here, but sometimes they make loud noises and we're scared of noises, so we run back into our room and hide under the bed. 

COCO

Well, that's about all for now.  Bye!

Getting Shot or Not

COCO

Um, George said I should just talk because some cats out there are listening, so here goes.

We've been here almost a month now and are getting used to our forever home.  After our first few days though, I started (a-choo) sneezing and got...mmmm...um...I don't know how to say this.

GEORGE

What?

COCO

(whispers)  I'm having a problem in the litterbox.
 
DIXIE

Me too

GEORGE 

What kind of problem?

COCO

Well, uh, when I go potty it's not like it used to be.  Our new Mom says I have deer ear or something like that.

GEORGE

What?  Oh wait, I know what the problem is.  I had a very good friend by the name of Skeezix, who called that "da skwertz".

DIXIE

And she gave it to ME, too, 'cause (choo) I'm sneezing and have deer ear, too!

COCO

So now, even though we're eating real good and playing and purring and stuff, now we have to go and see a DOCTOR!!

DIXIE

And I don't want to go to a doctor!  George, what do you think will happen?

GEORGE

Well, in my experience with these things, I'd say you'll probably have to get shot but the medicine will help you get better and that's a good thing.

COCO

It's a good thing, Dix.

DIXIE

I think getting shot is never a good thing!

Happy Halloween

The Crew and our family wish you all a



And remember, keep kitties safe in a bedroom while the goblins come out and grab all that candy!

An Interview with the Kittens

GEORGE

Because my outstanding work on the 2009 Birdie Census and previous interviews with The Champ and The Perches, I've been asked (by Mom) to come out of retirement and do a brief interview with each of the new kittens that have recently found their forever home with us.

First I'd like to ask Miss Dixie Belle, aka Dixie Cupp, to come to the table.

Miss Belle, or do you prefer to be called Miss Cupp, can you tell us a little about yourself?  Don't be shy, just speak right into the microphone.

DIXIE

Um...I'm not sure what my new name is. What should I say?

GEORGE

Tell our legions of fans where you were born and things like that.

DIXIE

This is my official shelter picture and I'm a tortoiseshell cat.  I was told I was born outside around the end of June and was brought to Desert Paws Rescue when I was about 10 days old.  Then I lived with a nice lady who was my foster Mom and she fed me from a bottle and played with me and all the other kittens who lived there.  She called me Sabrina but this lady here says my name is Dixie.  I don't remember my Catmom. 

GEORGE

Thank you, Miss Belle-Cupp.  I'll get back to you in a minute, but first I want to say hello to Miss Coco Chanel.

COCO

Uh, hi.  Should I say where I was born?

GEORGE

Yes, go ahead and don't be afraid.  We're all friends here.

COCO

Well, my story is just like my friend Sabrina's, wait, I mean Dixie's. This is my official shelter picture and I'm a siamese.  I was brought to the same foster home when I was very little and my foster Mom was nice.  She called me Samantha and I'm about 3 1/2 months old.  Then I was adopted by a man and lady who said this is my forever home now and they will call me Coco.

GEORGE

Yes, that's right.  All of us were adopted and this is our forever home.  It's a good home and the man and lady are your Dad and Mom now.  They love cats a lot and will take good care of you.

DIXIE

That's good, 'cause you know what? 

COCO

I'll tell him!  When a cat or dog is adopted from Desert Paws Rescue, their life is saved, so we're glad to be here.

GEORGE

Well, let me introduce the rest of us here.  As you know, I'm George and I'm 17 years old. I'm not well and have kidney disease, but for now I'm doing OK. Then Tipper is next and she's 11.  Max is the only black and white one and he's 9, and Misty is 8.  We're not from the same Catmom but we're a cat family now.  I must add that we were all very surprised to hear and smell you girls when you arrived. since neither Mom or Dad said a word about adopting a new kitten.

DIXIE

Did he just say we smell?

COCO

We don't smell!  But we're new here so we smell like our foster home, not like this home.

DIXIE

Oh.  Well, George, we're as surprised as you all are.  We were happy at our home, then one day our foster Mom brought us to this place where there were a lot of other kittens and cats in cages.  All kinds of people stopped to look at us and talk to us.  Then, before we knew what was happening, we were in a box

COCO

and when we got out of the box, we were here! 

GEORGE

Well, thank you Dixie and Coco.  I hope you won't be offended or take it personally if one of us hisses at you. This is only until we get used to you being here, of course.  We need time to adjust to being a family of 6 cats, not 4.   'Specially Misty, since she's a little upset about not being the baby of the family any more.

MISTY

I'm more than "a little" upset, George...I'm a LOT upset!

GEORGE

Alright, Mist...just settle down.  And remember, all of us, except you, had to adjust each time a new kitten was adopted.  These girls needed a forever home just like we all did, and Mom and Dad saved their lives.

MISTY

Hmmm...I never thought of it that way.  Yes, you're right, George.  All kitties deserve a forever home.

More About the Babies

TIPPER

Mom, we need to talk to you about these 2 new kittens.

MOM

I know, aren't they cute?

TIPPER

Yes, very cute.  But, I want to kn....

MISTY

I want to know why they're here!  Are they staying?!

TIPPER

And I want to know why one is wearing a PURPLE COLLAR!  You know purple is MY color!!

MOM

She's a Meezer and her name will be Coco Chanel.

TIPPER

That's nice, but what about the coll.....

MOM

And the other baby is a tortoiseshell and her name will be Dixie Belle.

MISTY

But Mom, why are they here...in our house?!!

MOM

Well, Dad and I went to PetSmart for food and litter and they were having an adoption fair.   Our new babies are from a foster home that had 10 kittens from 3 different Momcats.  They were found when they were just about 10 days old and had to be bottle fed.  Their foster Mom loved them so much, she said she wouldn't let these 2 girls be adopted unless they were adopted together because they're bonded.  We knew they needed a forever home, so we adopted both of them. 

TIPPER

Well, that's all very sweet, but what about the purple collar thing?

MOM

When we moved from Whisk-onsin to Arid-zone, I threw away the old kitten collar you all wore beause I didn't think we'd be adopting more babies.  So, I had to get kitten collars for Coco and Dixie and I looked for other colors but could only find yellow and light purple.  Don't worry, Tipp, when Coco gets older, she'll probably wear a yellow collar or some other color.

GEORGE

She'd better not wear BLUE!

MAX

Or RED!!

TIPPER

So, she'll be wearing MY color 'til her neck is too big for the kitten collar?

MISTY

And they'll live here forever?

MOM

Yes and yes.