Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
In Loving Memory Cats => Rainbow Bridge - In Loving Memory => Topic started by: swampmaxmum on November 17, 2009, 09:33:24 AM
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This thread is for Swampy, our magic little chocolate monster baldnavel and the most loved boy ever in the world. I am going to add photos and memories of him to it in due course, when I feel able to.
Right now I just want to pay tribute to the best friend and soulmate that anyone was ever blessed with. From mad, cute tiny kitten to mid-years love and play monster to splendid old man to the bravest boy in the whole world, Swampy was the love of our lives. I just hope that I managed to pay back a tiny fraction of the love and care he gave me for so long.
God bless darling Swampy. I hope you are now with Maxsheesh and all your other friends and that Great Uncle Louis and Auntie Moggy are there for you too. God must have said "what's that lovely noise?!" and an angel told him "it's Swampy. He purrs just a bit, like velvet chocolate".
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RIP Swampy darling, the sweetest cat ever. You bore all your troubles with such fortitude and bravery and still showed spirit right up to the end. I will miss you lots, miss your mummy's updates and going on the roller coaster of emotions with her, miss her little tales of joy but most of all Swampy I will miss you. You were an extra special cat and all the pets at Rainbow Bridge will embrace you forever. Night night sleep tight sweet Swampy :hug:
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a lovely way to remember him Kate, you've got years of memories to go over and that is very special
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RIP Swampy. You were loved so very much, but it was time to go and be with Max.
For Kate and OH: :care:
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:Luv2: God bless dear little Swampy xx :hug:
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When human and cat share a special bond, every step is made with love....Its not quantity remember Kate "its quality" and that you have shared many times over! :hug: :hug: :hug:
Play hard at that Bridge darling Swampy xxx
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What a lovely tribute to a very special and very brave boy xxx
RIP sweet Swampy - have fun at the Bridge until your Mummy and Daddy come and find you xxx
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Thats a beautiful tribute to Swampy and im sure you returned 100% all the love and devotion he gave to you
We all know how much you loved the little Choc-o-late Monster right to the end and that love will live on in your memories until you all meet again :hug: :hug:
RIP sSwampy ,fit and healthy again at the bridge with your brother Max till Mum and Dad come to fetch you :Luv2: :Luv2:
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imagine Swampy reaching the Bridge and finding he can now see Max again, and hear him too calling a welcome to him
look after each other, lovely lads, till you are reunited with those who so loved you down here
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A beautiful tribute to a most special boy /boys - they will now be together snuggling at the bridge till Mum and Dad come up to be with you forever - god bless little Swampy and Max too .
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Swampy with his eyes being able to see again is such a beautiful thought. He fought his illnesses so bravely and wanted to live so very much and kept giving us so much love, but I know that worse than any of his illness symptoms was the loss of his sight.
I'm missing him so terribly, it's so raw. I am sitting on the bed in the sun where he'd have loved to be, stretched out, purring,planning a long and jumpy-dreamed sleep.
God Bless little man, I love you so
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He is lying on the bed Kate, right next to you....Just in another dimension! :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Once you let someone into your heart , they are always always with you. :hug: :hug:
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Lovely tribute to a lovely choccie boy Kate :hug:
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I was upset today as I had had a niggling thought since we brought him home that his memorial plaque on the casket was a bit wrong. I realised only this morning that one word from his own choccy monster song is wrong. It's stuck on so hard I'm not sure it can be changed but I will ask. Maybe. It is, after all, the one we did on the day of his funeral and brought him home, but it jars a bit. I can't make up my mind.
This afternoon at 2.20pm it is one week since he passed away with me holding his little head. A rainy day just like today. Please give him a little prayer or thought if you remember. I'm going to light him a candle and sing his song. I miss him so terribly.
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I will light a little candle today too :hug: :hug:
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I wll be thinking of you both all and light a candle :) :hug:
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Good Night God bless you Swampy - you are a very brave kitty, you fought hard. You will be in many of our hearts for ever.
RIP sweet little man.
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Hugs to you Kate x
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Today at 2.20 I lit his and Max's candles and sang their songs & said a little prayer for my boys. I just hope that I can continue to get inspiration from the incredible love and joy that Swampy seemed to understand how to give and gave in so many ways all his life, and of course from his fight and bravery when not well. It's hard to explain but since he was a tiny boy , he just knew when I needed him most and came to me. He always made me laugh and smile and not once made me cry or have a cross word with him. We always felt that he was a little angel sent to us from heaven, who knows why we would be so blessed, but that of course one day heaven would take him back.
I wish I could find words to say how much I love him and miss him.
I like this Native American poem although it is quite an outdoor, frontier poem, not an urban living poem, but it's still beautiful
NATIVE AMERICAN PRAYER FOR THE GRIEVING
I give you this one thought to keep -
I am with you still – I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not think of me as gone -
I am with you still -
in each new dawn
~~ Author Unknown ~~
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That poem is beautiful Kate.....Time does not pass quickly on Rainbow Bridge, a week to us is but a day on the Bridge...In those days much happens, strength is regained, memories of illness fade and love shines down to those who need it! Thinking of you! :hug: :hug: :hug:
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:thanks: The worst part is coming home when I've been out and there's no-one here. Today also I have written a note for the vet and the vet nurses. I want to thank them, but not too effusively as I think that I wasn't 100% supported sometimes but regarded as a bit of an eccentric and a nuisance, or that's my impression. I know that intensive care for 14 months is a long time, but I'm reading a book about a NYC cancer vet and she says that if an owner shows great commitment, the least the vet can do is match it. Not be too busy. My vet is (was) sole prac and under pressure and he did allow stuff that maybe others wouldn't (definitely around here), but we have a niggling sense of how the sub cuts and the phosphorus/calcium ratio could or should have been better handled with more concentration put into them, not dismissed until they were too serious to change and then start to focus. But I do need to say thank you as there were daily phone calls towards the end and I pushed for info throughout.
I want to do justice to Swampy's memory and it's hard to find the words. He was just a blessing on 4 legs, a lovesponge and a joy in every single way.
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Kate , out driving today there was the most enormous rain shower , and some sunshine which resulted in an absolutely glorious DOUBLE rainbow! :wow: I immediately thought of Swmapy and Max and thought you should know! :hug: :hug:
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thank you Kirst, that's so sweet and a real comfort. I'm missing the boys so very much and it's the thought of them happy and healthy together, going nggggg at each others' eyebrows again that just keeps me going. I wish I'd seen it too!
:hug: :hug:
I found Swampy's favourite kitten toy today - an old little plastic troll without any hair (he bit it all off).
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I agree with what you read with ref to "If the owner shows an added interest ect...." :hug: They should also be willing for the experience of it all, however do they progress I wonder? :shocked: :hug: :hug:
You have Swampy and Max's soul inside of you Kate.....You may not see them but I bet you feel them, your emptiness will be replaced when the realisation kicks in that this is not the end, a different corner Kate, another path along the way! :hug: :hug: :hug:
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2 weeks today Swampy darling. I hope you are happy with Maxy and that the two of you heard our little prayers and your choccy monster song.
I could not love you any more; as the song says you own my heart. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to infinity for you and little Max.
Dignity replaced the plate on Swampy's casket for free - so kind that it brought more tears - it was my fault as when I was there, I got one word wrong in the inscription. I put on a line from Swampy's song; now it will be correct. It was a long drive down there to Dignity, but it's hard to think anyone could be better, when the worst happens.
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Thinking of you Kate :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Thinking of you Kate :hug: :hug: :hug:
Ditto! :hug: :hug: :hug:
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:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: during this hard time. Swampy will be having fun on the brige. take care xx
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1 month today since my beloved little Swampa passed away. It's just the worst time in the world and nothing is really of any comfort for very long. I miss him and little Max so terribly. The flat is so empty and quiet and doesn't feel like home any more.
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there isn't a Purrs member who doesn't know just what you mean, Kate
a house is not a home without a cat :hug:
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Thinking of you! :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Kate I can only imagine how lost and empty you feel after all the time you spent nursing your beloved Swampy (and Max) :hug: :hug:. Our house doesn't feel like home either since Korky went to the bridge and I didn't devote a fraction of the time to his care that you did to Swampy's. i think of you often - I do hope time will heal :care:
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((((((((((KATE))))))))))
Thinking of you xx
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I wrote to thank Prof Gunn Moore of Edinburgh Univ for her help in saving Swampy's life back in January and I had a reply from her yesterday and such a nice card. He only had the extra 9 months because of her input so it meant a lot.
It made everything come home to me yet again though. It's not possible to miss Swampy as much as I do. Nothing feels real or of any importance.
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Oh Kate - how i wish I could say or do something that would help you. All I can do is to tell you how much I feel for you. Have you thought about trying a pet bereavement service. I've never used one but it might help to be able to talk about how you are feeling :hug: :hug:
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Little Swampy....we are going to go away to where you were so happy my sweet. This Xmas I miss you and Maxy more than ever. I've lit candles for you and I hope you can see them and know that you live on forever in my thoughts and that you still own my heart.
I love you Swampy and I love you Max. You were the best thing that ever happened to me and I hope that you knew and know how loved you were and still are. The flat just feels like somewhere to live. And we have bobbles on the Xmas tree and no-one is batting them down and breaking them..
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:hug: :hug: I do hope you can find some peace this Christmas Kate. I will be thinking of you and I believe there can be no doubt whatsoever that Swampy and Max knew and still know just how much they were loved.
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This must be a very hard Christmas for you but I am sure the boys are watching over you :hug: :hug:
We have special light a candle thread today on Purrs
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I'll look for the thread, thank you :hug:
It is very sad and difficult. I have lit their candles and we'll have a Xmas commemoration at the usual time this afternoon. Just after I lit their candles, the sun came out.
Swampy, I love you my choccy monster, have a happy Xmas with Max
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:hug: Kate - I know they had wonderful lives with you. I know you will do it when you are ready but I'm sure somewhere there are a pair of fluffballs waiting to be cared for by you :hug:
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Let Swampy and Max guide you when you are ready......Your heart is open to many, so big it can hold a special place for all! :hug: :hug:
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Kate
I understand how you feel. I lost my Dusty. I think will I have a place in my heart for another.
I lost momma and bubba 2 years ago.
I feel so lonely
Will light a candle for you
Joyce
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I'm not at all ready yet. It doesn't feel right, in fact it feels terrible. Right now I am babysitting a neighbour's canary and he is sweet but I find it upsetting having to think about a 'dependent one' at home when I am out. I think it will be a long time before I can even think of another cat. Swampy and Max were so much more to me than cats. Their loss was like losing a child or a best friend, the deepest love there is anyhow.
I am going away on friday for 2 weeks and am stressing about whether their caskets will be ok as it's all I have left of them, I mean in terms of physical memory. I am going to be upset that I can't have my friday commemoration for the boys too. Stopping what I am doing and thinking of them is all right, but not the same.
Joyce, my love to you :hug:
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Okay at home Kate, or do you mean should you take them with you? That is something that only you and OH can decide, whatever your need! :hug: :hug: :hug:
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We are just back from 2 weeks in France. We stayed (by chance) in the same building as we lived in with the boys before, just one floor up. I thought that would finish me off but it was ok, but what wasn't was we went to a neighbouring flat which was for sale to have a look and I looked over at the balcony that Swampy and Max used to sunbathe on every sunny morning and that just started me crying. And then night time was so difficult; I miss them so terribly.
When I got back the vets had left a message saying they didn't do their accounts properly and we still owe them over £1000 in unpaid bills for the year. OH is going to fight them (I always asked if we were up to date when I paid in instalments and they said yes - and I can't see how we paid them so much and can still owe so very much to them, as we paid 35% of the insurance claim and anything to do with Swampy's eyes and that's all). They want me to come down there and go through it which I can't do and won't do. I don't know what to do; it's just more bad news at such a bad time. I paid regularly and insurance claims were put in every 2 months so it's a shock. We don't have any more pets and I wouldn't go back there anyhow. I go past there often though so would run into them at some point.
Last week 13th was 2 months since Swampy passed and today is 5 months since Max passed. It doesn't get any easier and in some ways missing them just gets worse. I feel like I want to move as there is no way I can ever go out on to the roof again. It was Swampy and my special sunbathing place. Maxy never liked it; he only liked canned sun, lying in the windowsill.
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Kate what a horrible shock about the bill, the last thing you need
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Thats awful- what a horrible vet !
Hope you can get it sorted out - they need to give you every detail and payment that you and the insurance company have made to them !
Lots of these for you :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
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I know its something that you wont want to do but maybe ask them for a bill run down by letter.....I think they are taking the :censored: >:( :hug:
Im sure some memories will of came flooding back to you Kate.... :( :hug: :hug: :hug:
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I agree you need chapter and verse in writing of absolutely everything but know its so hard cos I had the same problem with a Vet Niow bill for Kocka and just when you are trying to get through the grieving process, somethink like this happens and turns back the clock.
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My OH says he will deal with it. We'd not go back to that vet so I'm inclined to pay him the last bill (less the 'consultation fee' they charged, which is unbelievable, as well as the pts fees) and see what happens.
I can't do it and I can't fight him.
Today I got comfort from my commemoration of both of my boys at the usual time. I miss them so badly; I still can't adjust when I am out, I think I have to get back and then....no I don't.
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Aw Kate, things will get easier in time I promise, but to lose such a big part of your life it will be hard to adjust! :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Its a very hard time and its gonna take loads of time to deal with the losses but it does get easier , even if it doesnt go away completely :hug: :hug:
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Can't believe your vets have made an error of that amount :wow:
However, I would take them up on the offer of going there to go through the accounts Kate :hug:
Sendning you much love.....we never get over losing our babies but hopefully time will make it easier for us all xxxx
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not any easier but it's only 5 months for Max and 2 1/2 for Swampy. I have my commemoration each Friday and I sing them their songs. I light their candles every night and more on Fridays. I go out as much as possible as it's not a home any more. It's just somewhere to live.
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I'm sorry you are finding it so hard Kate, do you think the time will come where you can open your heart to other cats?
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It is so hard when we lose one of our fur babies .
Its been 7 weeks today since i lost Bungly and although i have 4 still , i miss her so much :( she was one of the most affectionate ones of them all -her and the boys .
Sophie is upstairs most of the time and FiFi always thinks you are going to groom her or clean her eyes and also keeps away in her bed most of the time too .
Bungly was always around me and slept on my pillow and on the sofa with me .
Hope one day you will be able to take in another needy fur baby .
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losing both so close, after you had dedicated so much of your life to caring for them, must leave a huge hole in your heart and life, Kate
but Maxy and Swampy gave you so much in return, and I'm sure the misery and emptiness you feel now does not for a moment make the love and joy you shared with them not worth it
and I'm sure too that your capacity to love another will return :hug:
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(((((((((( KATE and GILL ))))))))))
Giving you both a loving hug xxxx
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Topping up the hugs in here, thinking of you all! :hug: :hug: :hug:
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It's just over 5 months now and it feels like yesterday. I went out on to the roof yesterday, for the first time since Swampy passed away. It was his special place, even when he was dying he wanted to go out there. Little blind-deaf boy in his harness used to try to climb out of the window to get out there and I had to hold him tight and guide him down on to his soft cushion. I couldn't bear it yesterday and I don't want to go out there again. It brought back all the times we sat there or I lay there next to him watching him sleep in the sun and singing to his tufty head.
I hope he and little Max are flying free and can see the candles I light for them and know how they live on in my heart. I sing Swampy's songs to him still but I realised he never actually heard them when he was alive as he was deaf so I sang them to the top of his head.
I'm so so glad that I got a recording of his special purr on one of the last times that he really did purr.
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BIG :hug: xx
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I thought about you last month - when I saw your darling boy on the purrs calendar - what a handsome chap xxx
big deep paw prints firmly in hearts :hug:
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thanks Gail :hug: I'm so pleased I got those photos taken in 2007 before they both got ill.
It's 6 months today that Swampy passed so it's a difficult time. I miss him so very much and love him so much more than I can say. I know he lives on forever in my heart and he's at peace now with darling little Max, but you know how it is, you want them back and healthy and with you.
I seem to miss him and Max more as time goes on.
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Kate can't offer any words of comfort or advice that haven't already been said. But you know we are all here for you honey :hug:
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forgive me, but I am going to post exactly the same message on both boys' threads here on RB. I am going to be away and not able to light candles for the boys, which I do at night and also on fridays, to commemorate their passing. I have bought a small orchid to put next to their caskets. It didn't feel right to have fake flowers.
I just wanted them to know that I may be away from what was their home, but they are with me always. I know it sounds odd, but I think some of you on here will understand. I keep their caskets in the windowsill where they always slept.
If anyone is lighting a candle in the next 3 weeks, and if you remember, please could you just offer a little thought up to my Swampy and my Max. It is now 10 months since Max passed and 7 months since Swampy passed but it still feels so raw and recent. It's going to be hard as I am going back to where they used to live, in SA, to visit our ex neighbour.
Fly free little boys, I love you always xxxxxxxxxx
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I'll be thinking of them.
They are free and pain free running round playing like kittens with my Beau & Zak. Take comfort that they were yours and no one elses. xxx :hug:
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God bless Swampy.
:hug:
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I am going to light candles on Friday for my girl Phoebe, its her first anniversary :'(
I will light candles for your Boys Swampy and Max too and you will be in my thoughts. :hug: :hug:x
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Philip
Lovely tribute to Swampy - really bought out his handsome-ness.
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It is very beautiful Philip and captures Swampy in a gentle, reflective mood. thank you again so very much. It means an awful lot. My memories are still mostly difficult ones, of them when so ill - I suppose because of the long and intensive nursing - but this was a sunny day in september 2007 when the local college's photography lecturer came around and we snuck out on the flat roof to have him take some good photos. Swampy was well and happy, deaf but it didn't bother him.
I miss them both terribly. It's nearly a year for Max now which is unbelievable.
Love to you too Pappilon for Phoebe. I light candles for my boys especially on fridays and will say a little word for her too.
Next week has a friday 13th which will be hard as Swampy passed on friday 13th november.
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Today would have been my little man's 19th birthday. I miss and love you Swampy more than ever.
fly free darling Swampy, with your little brother Maxy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Happy 19th birthday dearest Swampy boy. I hope you have the party to end all parties at Rainbow Bridge with all your friends. Big hug to your mum :hug:
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Happy birthday Swampy, but everyday is a like a birthday at the bridge where all souls fly free and there is no pain. :hug: :hug: to you Kate, may you find peace.
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Happy 19th Birthday Swampy - feel like i know you with all your mummy has told us about you .
Have a lovely birtday at the bridge with Max and all the other furbabies -including all mine up there.
Lots of :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: to you Kate.
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thanks so much :hug: to all
I know I will be back on here on 13 November as that will be one year. The anniversaries are always the worst aren't they?
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Tomorrow is one year on from Swampy's passing. I am still finding it very hard to cope without his strong, unconditional love and constant reassurance. I felt the world was all right with him in it. I know he's at peace now and flying free, with no struggles to overcome but I miss him so very very much.
I am going out to buy some beautiful white roses to put in the flat. I want to do something tomorrow that makes me happy, in his honour. He was such an inspiration, the way he coped with ill health and deafness and blindness and still kept loving, playing and purring.
I can imagine Maxy up on the Bridge or Heaven or wherever being a bit jealous, so Maxy my little plastic chewing horror, I love and miss you so much too.
I feel that I have lost my family. I don't really have one and they were it, for me and my husband.
I'm sorry I've not been in touch regularly with all of you who were so wonderfully caring and supportive during their illness and at the end :hug: :hug:
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Just to send you loads of these :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
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I think it's wonderful that you're able to honour Swampy's memory, love the idea of white roses. :hug:
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:hug: I hope one day soon you will find it in you to add to your family, you gave your boys such a good life
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Lit my candles for Swampy tonight and put white freesias and roses next to his little casket. It is 2 years ago tomorrow, the 13th, that he passed.
I miss him and his little brother Max so much.
Live on forever, fly free my boy
you are so loved. We must honour the memory of all the love and joy you brought to us.
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Oh hun :hug:
RIP Swampy and Max ... gone but never forgotten. You will both live on in your mummys heart forever.
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Thinking of you hun :hug: :hug:
Big loves & purrs on your Memorium Day, Swampy :Flowers: x x x
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They'll both be safe and sound at the Bridge, waiting until you are ready to collect them xx
Remember Our Love
I was chosen that day
I'm learning to fly
the world took me away,
but please don't you cry
And I chose you today
to try and be strong
so please don't you cry
and don't say that I'm gone
When you're feeling alone
just remember our love,
I'm up near the stars
looking down from above.
Remember our love
In a moment you'll see
that I'm still here beside you
when you're thinking of me.
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Thinking of you :hug: :hug: :hug:
I can't believe how quickly time goes by - I remember Swampy's story so well
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It's 3 years today since Wampa passed away. I still miss him and his mad bruvver Max so much. My memories are still a mix of the bad and the good. The flat feels so empty; not without a pet, but without them.
Today I got 3 beautiful big, white, long stemmed roses and 2 white lisiathus to put next to Swampy's ashes and I've lit his candles.
Poor little Wampa, my Choccy Monster - cover your ears on the Bridge, because your Mum is going to sing to you!
For all of you, Swampy's honorary aunties and uncles, I'll never forget your support. It means as much today as 3 years ago and always will.
xxxx
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3 years has passed so quickly and this is a special day for you and am sure they are both paddling away in your heart :hug: :hug: :hug:
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It's frightening how quickly time passes, such a special boy :hug:
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I have just ordered a beautiful silver pendant in memory of Smartie , Bungly and all the others. It will be here next week and will post a picture.
I remember Swampy and Max so well and I lost Bungly not long after Swampy .
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Hey sweetheart. We all remember your beautiful boys. What a delight they both were, and what a desperate loss it was to have to say goodbye. :hug: :hug: They have never faded in your memory and that's so special. :hug: :hug:
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Thank you lovely catpeople XXX
I remember Bungly. The pendant sounds very special.
Can't type on this iPad! If my boys were still around mind you, it would be impossible to use at all by now as I would've had to download kitty paw games and that would have been in the end of the iPad!