The End of the Jihad

Before I go any further, let me thank all of you for the kind notes and words you sent about the Garden Kitty.  I will try to respond individually, but it may take some time.  And for a lot of you, I'm not sure I have an e-mail address.  Nonetheless, we appreciated your kindness.

Unfortunately, there is more bad news. We just came back [again] from the Cat Hospital, where we said goodbye to Tess. As you may or may not know, she had been diagnosed with cancer and then a few years later, with kidney disease. This was years ago, and we were told she would probably live three more years at the most. Those of you who knew Tess, though, know that she did every single thing in her life on her terms, no matter what anyone else said/wanted/thought. So we were lucky enough to have her with us for another six years. And she had been starting to slow down over the past few months, but it seems that she failed quickly when the Garden Kitty started to fail. Either in sympathy, solidarity, or just plain old coincidence, but by last night she was barely able to move, and kept crying. I stayed up with her as long as I could, and then got up to be with her early this morning. Fortunately, the dr at the Cat Hospital on duty today arrived early, and told us to bring her up as soon as we could.

So we took her with her favorite sheepskin for a bed, and her favorite toys, and talked, sang, kissed, and petted her for as long as we could. She sneezed/sniffled a few times when the dr gave her the final injection (because she is after all, Tess!), but she was very peaceful and quiet and we feel that she finally was able to relax and not think she needed to hang on for us.

We have always joked that Tess was running a Kitty Jihad and World Domination Plan (KJWDP), because she was such a character. But even the greatest masterminds have to rest sometime, and she was very tired.

Tess was also the last kitty who remembered our Molly, so although that is a sad thought for us, we are happy that The Girls are all together again.

Once again, I am asking you to hug and kiss your family of all kinds, and to keep a kind thought for our Tess. All of this has thrown us for quite a loop, but at least we know that everyone is safe, sound, and no longer sick. The Tim, Jetsam, and I have a lot of adjustments to make all of a sudden, but we are all relieved that our sweet boy and girl are in a good place.

Here is a picture of Tess, showing her sweetness and calico-nicity. She was the best ever.  Always.

God bless you, sweet girl.  Thank you for finding us.

We love you.  Forever.