Meet Bella

I had absolutely no intention of getting another cat that looked like Kitty. In facts, I really had no intention of getting another cat until I had moved to Pennsylvania.

However, Mario started acting needy. He had never lived alone as a single cat in his entire life. And I really missed having a cat to talk to during the day. My vet called me, several days after Kitty passed away, and told me that he wasn't aware of what I was good at or not good at in life, but he knew that I was an excellent cat Mommy. He said that he knew that there were cats who would love to come and live with me. And I knew he was right.

So I went to the Animal Shelter and I thought that I would get a yellow kitty, something different. There was one yellow cat and one grey cat. They both didn't want to have anything to do with me. And then their were like, 23 black and white Kitty looking cats. I walked from cage to cage and then I saw this little, what I thought was a kitten, cat. He opened the cage and she walked up to me and rubbed her little head on my face and pressed her nose into my cheek. Kitty did something similar the day I took him home with me. He pressed his nose to my nose very aggressively.

After Bella made her move I was sold. I said "I'll take her!" I was told she was a stray and 2 years old. How do you know that a cat is 2 years old? Especially if it's a stray! I named her Bella. She doesn't know her name yet. I think she'll get it sooner or later. She only weighs 7 lbs. She is really tiny. She has a totally different personality than Kitty. She is a little spit fire when she is upset. She will hiss and growl. The first 3 days I had her I had begun to think I had a demon kitty. I was scared to death of her. All of that has changed and she is sooooo very sweet. When you talk to her she talks back. She has the tinest cat voice I have ever heard. She jumps in my lap. She plays with my hair. She has really made herself at home here.

Mario has been practicing his Taoist ways. He just doesn't have an opinion one way or the other. He isn't happy she is here and he isn't upset by it. He is a cool cat.

About 2 days ago I noticed that Bella has begun to do some Kitty things. The last 2 months of Kitty's life he began to sleep in my dirty clothes hamper in the back of the dark closet. Bella has found that place to sleep. Kitty use to sit on my bathroom counter. I have caught Bella sitting up there. Kitty would sit on my dresser and be watching me in the morning. Bella has begun doing that. Kitty was an alpha cat and liked jumping on top of my desk and the file cabinets. Bella has begun jumping on my desk and file cabinets. Mario's feel have only gotten as far off the ground as needed to get to the bed.

The really cool thing I discovered was "soft claws". It's really cruel to declaw a cat. The vet told me about these little plastic covers that you super glue over their claws. I got them at PetSmart and they even put them on Bella for me. She doesn't even know they are there and it doesn't hurt when she does that mash-potato thing that cats do.

This picture was taken in a chair that both Kitty and Mario love to sit in.

Ciao

Meet Mario

Mario will be 14 years old in September of this year. He is a very special cat. He is super sweet. His 3 favorite things to do are; sleeping, eating and cuddling me a night. Hence, his nick name "Cuddle bug".

I have had Mario since he was 6 weeks old. I saw an ad in the newspaper that read "Free Kitten to a Good Home". I went and picked him out of the litter. He was a tiny thing and fluffy. I didn't know what to call him so I let him pick his name. His choices were "Fluffy" or "Mario". I would alternate between names when calling him. He responded to Mario so.... that's what his name is. Nothing bad has happened to Mario in his life with me.

I am not so sure about his previous lifetimes. I say this because Mario is afraid of everything, including and especially his shadow. He is afraid when the air-conditioner goes on. He use to be afraid of cat toys and then Kitty came along and he learned how to play with them. He will not play with his cat toys alone. He would just join in with Kitty during play time. And he has nightmares almost every night.

I learned the hard way not to wake a cat having nightmares. About 21 years ago my cat, Bebe, was sleeping and having a nightmare and I stooped down to wake him up and he lunged into my face. His teeth literally cut my top lip all the way through in 2 places. I had to go to Santa Monica Hospital Emergency Room and have 32 stitches. So when Mario begins his nightly whimpering I just talk to him and he'll wake up from the nightmare.

The video is of the only thing I have been able to teach Mario.... a duet.

Ciao

In Loving Memory of Kitty

My beloved pet, Kitty, passed away this morning. I felt two emotions at the same time. I felt relief that he was no longer suffering, gasping for air and crying in pain and I felt the pain in my heart of not being able to have him in my daily life.

I feel as if I am in shock. It all happened so very fast. It was only last Sunday night that I arrived home at 10:30pm to find Kitty's health in decline.

You know life is really weird... no rhyme or reason... or so it seems. I started this blog a month ago because I learned the value of communicating through a blog when my friend, Melita, was diagnosed with a tumor in her lung and began her blog www.myleftlung.com. I think it is really weird and erie that a month after I have begun my blog I am posting about my Kitty dying from the same thing Melita had. It's just weird.

I have learned in my lifetime that even the bad stuff happens for a reason. And I am trying to find the reason for Kitty's life to be cut so short (he would have been 6 years old Memorial Day weekend). Of all the places that Kitty has lived, he loved this place the most. He loved being able to sit on the balcony and see the world. He loved running up and down the stairs like a cat on crack. He loved going for walks outside the front door on his hot-pink leash. I don't think Kitty would have been happier living anywhere else. Who knows he may have gotten really depressed if he would have had to move from here.

I know that sometimes we have to go down a bad road to get to a better place. It's just life. I have figured that part out. I feel as if I am on the bad road right now, but I know the better road is just ahead. I am moving across country and part of the move includes selling 90% of what I own. Before today I felt some hesitancy about selling my custom made sofa set, my dinning room table, my bedroom furniture. Well, I have absolutely no hesitancy now. In facts, I can't sell it all fast enough. I can't move fast enough. Kitty was such a large part of my life and there are memories of Kitty everywhere. He had more personality than 1000 cats put together.

Maybe Kitty passing away was something that had to happen for me to keep on track with my plan of moving. Maybe the godForce that looks after us knew that Kitty passing away would be what I needed to get on with my plan, without hesitation and at a quicker pace. Who knows. I do know that the next 2 months living here will feel sad for me. And I know that I now have another guardian angel looking out for me. Does it make me feel better saying that? No.

I do have another cat. Mario who is 14 years old and a cuddle bug. Mario loved Kitty dearly from the first time they met. I know that Mario will miss Kitty but will be fine. Animals don't get all emotional like we do.

I couldn't bring myself to put a picture of Kitty up for this post. The picture is the same that I have on my iPhone. Don't know whose pretty cat it is.

Ciao