This wonderful poem is dedicated to all the beautiful cats who have graced my life, and yours.   Please feel free to copy and distribute this poem freely.  Author unknown.

The Rainbow Bridge

 
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to the Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water, and sunshine and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who have been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; his eager body begins to quiver. Suddenly, he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together...

-- Anon. --

Recently Lost

Fuji was a miracle cat.  Rescued at 6 weeks from teenagers who had been feeding her a highly inappropriate diet, she was severely mal-nourished, could barely walk, and what little fur she had left was crawling with fleas.  The vet said she probably would not live.  A bath, some proper food, lots of love and good care, and she lived as queen bee and cherished friend for 18 years.  Severe spondlyosis forced me to let her go, but she fought the good fight, with lots of heart and determination.  She will be forever in my heart.

Big, black and beautiful, lap-hogging Romeo was adopted along with his sister Missy as a kitten from the Boca Raton Humane Society.   He earned his name over and over, a sweet loving cat that would spend hours on a warm lap.  At 13, Lymphoma took him from my life, but he lives on in my heart.

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The following are some of the other wonderful feline friends I've made over the years, and who now wait for me on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.  I look forward to seeing them again.

Teupi (left) is where it all began - a wonderfully loving and extremely intelligent cat who was with me for 18 years.  His soul mate and lifelong companion, GC Fagan's Lady Iris (right), could not go on without him, and died of a broken heart at 17, one month after Teupi's death.  Both of them are still sorely missed, even 29 years after they left me.

Bear and twins Rocky and Stormy were orphans who shared my heart and my home for five years.  They died in a neighborhood epidemic of Feline Leukemia that was spread by an undiagnosed carrier cat.  I only wish these wonderful furkids had had the benefit of today's vaccines.  They live on in my heart.

Bandit, who stole my heart, gone but never, ever forgotten. He died before his first birthday of FIP.

Ragsdale

I lost Rags many years ago, at age 18, to kidney disease.  The perfect gentleman, an un-believable second-chance soul mate, and the total lap cat, he is sorely missed, even now.  He's gone from me physically, but will always be with me in my heart.

Spyder was a rescue cat, as were most of the cats in my life. Alpha cat, leader of the pack, and a very sweet cat, he was with me for 17 years. His memory will always be cherished.

Charlie was a beautiful red Persian that graced my life for 12 years before throat cancer forced me to let him go.  Sweet and loving, I miss him very much.

Callie, sweet, gentle Callie, left me at age 17.  With complications from her arthritis that had no remedy, I could not force her to stay thru the pain.  A beautiful, loving cat that will always be missed.

My sweet boy Sunshine, lost to Congestive Heart Failure in Jan of 2007 at the tender age of 6 years.  The light of my life and the warmth in my day, he'll be forever in my heart, and beside my pillow.

  Tinkerbelle - Rest in Peace, sweet girl.  I'm sorry I didn't know enough, sooner.

Tinkerbelle and her brother Casper were part of a litter of kittens born to a friend's cat.  Both solid white, Tink was shorthaired while her brother is a longhair.  Sweet, loving, a true lap cat, I helped her go to the Rainbow Bridge rather than sit and watch her bleed to death internally.  She was on Tapazole for her Hyperthyroidism, and was one of only 4% of cats who have bad reactions to it.  It caused bone marrow disease, which destroyed her ability to clot her blood.  It also made her severely anemic, which caused heart problems. 

Several hours after having a needle draw of urine for lab work, I became aware that she was bleeding internally, into her bladder, as she was peeing blood.  The ER had no donor cat for the transfusion that might have saved her, so I chose to let her go.  She is sorely missed.

Five vets, two of them specialists, did not know what was going on with her, or we could have easily fixed the problem by stopping the Tapazole.  The problems are reversible if caught early enough.  Blood tests should be done bi-monthly for any cat on Tapazole, at least for the first three months, with close monitoring of the hematocrit levels to check for anemia, as that is the first sign.  Many vets, if not most, are not aware of this kind of reaction - I found the information on the manufacturer's web site when I did a search online for side effects of Tapazole.  I post this information in the sincere hope that it will save even one other cat, in the hope that her needless death will at least serve some good purpose.

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