This picture is absolutely lovely....
[img width= height=]http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/3/6/129123936404144046.jpg[/img]
And for everyone who's lost their babies, I'd liek to write up this poem which Matt and I recite everytime we bury a furbabe:
Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there. 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 stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
While I'm here I'd like to talk about little Tom. suddenly feel emotional.
Tom came to us with Sam around this time last year. Nicky told us both cats were very nervous and would take at least two months to adjust, but withing two days Sam was out and on our laps, purring and washing himself...by the forth day he was dying to go upstairs and explore some more but Matt and I wanted Tom to adjust first before we let Sam out of the room - we wanted them to stay together. After only a week, Tom was out, sniffing around the snake tank, washing himself and eating full meals. And then we let them both out of the room to explore the house, that night they were both on our bed snuggled up to us. Both of them completely settled in in only a week.
A month or two after, Tom was my absolute baby....I haven't been that close to a cat for years after my baby Lucky died...Tom looked just like him, and his meow was just like Lucky's. Of course, I am close to all my cats and they're all my babies but you know when you just have a star? That was lucky, and years later, was Tom.
I came home from spending a weekend at my parents' in birmingham and as soon as I walked through the door, Tom was circling - he was just walking around in circles. He had done this a few times before, but only for a second or two - I didn't worry about it as I've known cats to do this before they lie down, I thought Tom was one of those cats. But he just kept going, and after FOUR HOURS he dizzied himself out and fell over. We phoned the vet after half an hour of the start of this, but it was hard to get through to anywhere as it was a sunday. From then on, Tom had no balance, he wouldn't eat because he couldn't walk without falling over, Matt and I stayed up with him all night, we syrenged milk and water down his neck, mushed up his food so he could just lick it up. Finally we got him to a vet and he had no idea what was wrong - we suggested an ear infection but the vet was adament that wasn't the problem, so he took blood tests. All of this was in a 3 or 4 day time period - I went to my parents again, as hey were going to pay for the vet bills and I needed to get the money, and another good friend transferred some from hsi bank account to mine. just an hour after that transfer, Matt texted me saying "Tom's gone, he just fell asleep"
Since this happened, my dad's been loads of research because it cut me up so badly, like I say, he was just like Lucky and I'd never been that close to a cat for years, and so Dad emailed my about 4 months afterwards saying "IT's not certain but definately possible - it seems Tom had a small stroke, caused by scarring to the brain - which would have been caused by a huge blow to the head from years ago"
The vet said Tom was at least 8 years old.
Matt and I like to think that Tom came home to die, Matt said he really did just fall asleep, Sam knew as well, because when Tom stopped breathing, Sam put his head on Toms chest and chirped.
I miss you so much Tom and so does Sam, he was looking for you for days, weeks and months. He watched us bury you and sits on your grave almost everyday - Sam HATES the snow, but he still braves it just to come and talk to you. He'll only sleep on your blanket after he's talking to you. We hope you're still happy, baby, I love you so much.
Blessed Be, may Mother Nature and the Moon Goddess pamper you liek the King you are, please have a safe, warm and happy afterlife, and say hello to Lucky (he died of Liver cancer), Chloe (she died after a massive Asthma attack at christmas), Noodles (Tuppence's father - hit by a car), Gizmo (Noodles' wife and Tuppence's mother, also hit by a car a year after noodles), all of tuppences' siblings (killed at the hand of animal abusers), Bella, (died at a healthy age of 25), Trisha (died at 19), Spud (he died of Feline AIDS, he was my pillow when i was a baby), Samson (Looks just like Sam, dies of Cancer, my childhood best friend) and all my other children.
