Loving Memories

You name 'em, you claim 'em.... and then they die.

As I write this, Raven, a black cat with a little lopsided white triangle on his chest is trying to sit on my lap. I mean, I'm trying to write. And Moni Jewel, The First Cat, is trying to horn in.

But it all started with my Precious Poms. I mention Hero first because he was the hardest loss. I had that baby 17 1/2 years. He was a constant. I only spent 2 nights away from him. So when he passed, he left a huge hole in my heart, and my daily life.

Grief took Hero's hair... it was after he lost 2 girlfriends a year apart.

Hero was so bare he needed little shirts to keep him warm. You can see his neck was just as bare as his little butt. I would go to the Thrift Store and buy him baby shirts, birth to 3 months. And he would get so excited when I'd bring him a new shirt! He didn't care if it had ruffles...

When his hair started growing back, I was amazed. It had been eight years!

After 8 years of being bald from the neck to the knees, how did Hero miraculously grow his hair back?

The ONLY logical explanation is OATMEAL.

After acquiring a 3rd dog (Maui) and a houseful of cats, I began stretching the chicken I cooked to feed them all (cheaper than dog or cat food), by making oatmeal out of the chicken broth and adding it back to the deboned, cut up chicken.

Hero wasn't the only benefactor of this, but being he grew hair, it was more noticeable. He gained about a pound in the several months growing the hair, and seemed to get a new lease on life. He lived another 2 years, much healthier than he had been.

I knew Emily was painting this, but I didn't know she was going to send it to me!

My first Pomeranian (AKC Registered) was Honey. I was planning to get a pair and raise them for sale. That never happened and I'm kind of glad it didn't. I kidded that Hero was a stud dud.

Miti, as her name got shortened to, came to me as a stray, but there is no doubt in my mind she was a purebred, probably AKC. It took about a month to realize where she came from.

A young couple with a little boy had moved into the neighborhood. I met the man out in the alley and he was surveying the burned out garage that had happened on their first night there. He told me they had put all their belongings in the garage and put down some blankets to sleep on in the house that night. He said their little boy had just turned 3 and all his birthday presents were in the garage. I think during the conversation, he mentioned a little dog, but I didn't see one.

About a month later, I talked to another man in the alley. He was a Code Enforcer, and he was there trying to get another neighbor to get rid of chickens he had in his garage. The conversation turned to the fact a little boy had drowned in an above ground pool. Later I put the 2 and 2 together. The couple, distraught, moved out, likely leaving their little dog behind. My Miti.

We were a happy little family... I put another leash into the handle I had for Honey and Hero, so they could all go out together. Miti always balked at the leash, so one day she was helping me show the other two dogs they didn't need it.

I will forever blame myself for what happened.. but what could happen? I was right out there with all three of them.

Suddenly a big dog came into our yard. Honey bolted and started chasing him. Hero followed barking. I turned to Miti and told her to get on the back porch and took off running after them. When I came around the house I saw them going into the yard two houses up the street. When I got there, Hero came running to me. As I picked him up, I saw the big dog, a German Shepherd, go around to the back of the house. My eyes hit the ground in front of me and there was Honey in a heap. I managed to cradle her in my arms and keep Hero there, too.

She was still alive when I got her, and the other two, back into the house. I put her into a net bag with handles on it and took her out to the car and raced toward the nearest Vet's office. I only saw one little spot of blood on her chest, so I thought she could be saved. I was wrong. Just a few minutes later, the Vet came out and shook his head.

When I was 10 years old, I saw our big Black Lab nab a mink, shake his head and drop it. That's what that Shepherd did to my Honey.

Miti came hungry. I didn't know when a dog has gone hungry, they will over-eat. She actually was a Miniature Pom, weighing 6 pounds when I got her. In two years, she nearly tripled her weight. You see her on the top step above. I had set her and Hero on the porch (without a leash!) to take a picture. I wanted her to look up for the camera and she thought I wanted her to come. But you can see how roly poly she was...

This was about 2 months before she died, of an apparent heart attack.

I didn't see grief after Honey died, because Hero still had Miti. But when she died, he paniced. He went to pieces... He had never been alone before.

God sent me Rebel, and I suppose I need to tell that story, too.

One Sunday morning I headed west when I really was going south. As I traveled down the wrong street, I came across what I thought was a flea market. I thought I'd stop there on my way home.

So when I was headed home that afternoon, I was worrying about Hero because he'd been alone all day, but then I remembered I wanted to check out that flea market. Well, in reality, it was a Car Show. I love cars, so I was walking around looking at all of them, when I heard a man say, 'I carry a dog so the women will talk to me.'

I looked up and he had a Pom in his arms.

I said, 'Well, now you got two women talking to you.' and walked toward him. 'I just lost one like that two weeks ago.

'I got two boys', he said. 'Nine weeks old.'

He told me the price and the woman said, 'Oh, my gosh, that's a tenth of what they want for them in the pet stores.'

It was already 3 times what I'd paid for Honey and Hero, but I took his card and told him I'd think about it.

The next day, I called and asked to see the puppies. I took my check book along, because I knew I would buy one of them. And I carried Hero with me.

It was 30 miles away, so I was running names and had him named before I got there. Rebel Jett Star Dreym.

But then... I was flying to see my daughter 5 states away in 2 weeks. I had called her and asked if I could bring my dogs. She said, 'Yes!' and I was planning on going to pick up tickets the day Miti died. But, I couldn't take a baby puppy to my daughter's house... so I asked them if they would keep him until then. I didn't want to traumatize him by taking him and taking him back again, either. They said yes. So I paid for him and came home without him.

That trip was wonderful.... everybody loved Hero! I got laid over in Minneapolis and was a day late... the breeder was ready to give me my money back. They were getting pretty attached to Rebel.

I'm trying to avoid pictures of the animals I still have. I don't have pictures of Moni's kitties without her in them. But you can go to the other article to see them. Sugar and Spice were orange like the picture, Sammy was black and Sweetie was Calico.

This was a heartbreaking beginning to taking in stray cats.

Callie was special. I held her in my arms telling her to keep breathing... but I saw the light go out in her eyes.

Callie was one year old the day she gave birth to her five babies.

Penny, Tawny, Dusty, Fancy, Blackie.

Dixie was barely 6 months old when she gave birth to her first litter. (Probably October or November 2012.) I still have Raven I mentioned at the beginning, from that litter, and I had Cisco Pike Kidd Dreym who died October 28, 2016. There were 5 kittens, but I only saw 4. The neighbor guy said someone asked him if he could have one. Another woman coaxed 3 of them out from under the neighbor's back deck. I claimed Raven and I think Cisco is one that came back.

Dixie's next litter was April 7, 2013. There were 3... Smokey Jo White Dreym who disappeared on the 4th of July, Tiger Beau Diddley who has disappeared twice! and Callie Ellen Coe I've already mentioned, died from eating a poisoned rat on May 9, 2014.

Five months later, September 11, 2013, Dixie popped again with 4 more, Prince, Gypsy and Holly whom I still have and Kookie Ray Max Dreym, who disappeared.

Eight months later, May 9, 2014, Dixie had her last 4, Winky, Blinky, Noddy and Shadow. Noddy went missing at about a year old.

That makes 16 babies Dixie had before I got her spayed... then she went missing at the end of May, 2015. I feel she is alive. I think she hid in a U-Haul trailer neighbors left unattended for quite some time as they were moving...

And I still have 7 of them, plus 1 grand baby.

I said she was special, but you know, they all are. I guess, the way she died, and subsequently all five of her babies, makes her seem more special.

It was a chilly day, April 7th. I was watching her give birth in a little table on the front porch I had outfitted with pillows and blankets, with a table cloth covering the doorway. I was even taking pictures. Still, I was in and out and one time I came out to find one of the kitties in the middle of the porch, still wet from birth, freezing.

'That's it.' I thought. I went in and got something to carry them in, a net bag meant for laundry or something. I put a big towel in it, then Callie and all the kitties and took them to the empty apartment upstairs.

You can only see the two black ones, but they were all there, nursing and safe.

I don't recall exactly when I took all the rest in, but I had 3 others that were pregnant, and I thought maybe 4. It turned out Holly was not pregnant.

Here is where it gets confusing. I put Callie back outside, with her kitties on April 26th. She died on May 9th, and her first kitten, Penny, died on May 20, and Tawny, on May 25th. Dusty died on June 15th.

I took Dixie in on May 6th.

Gypsy gave birth to 2 on May 18, 2014. Tootsie and Jackie.

Prince gave birth to 5 on May 21, 2014. Hers were premies, with one that died the first day. She didn't know what was happening and she was dropping babies all over the house. I had to go after her and put them into a cabinet I put blankets in for her. Two more died in the next 2 days. Jade and Jazzy remained.

But she didn't know how to nurse them... and/or her nipples were inverted. Finally, in desperation, I gave one to Gypsy. Why, it latched on then and there. So I gave her the other one. After the babies knew how to look for a nipple, they began nursing on Prince. Then the Mamas traded back and forth..... it was so funny.

Callie was so happy to be back outside... She would make her rounds and go back and feed her babies. One day, coming back from a friend's house, I found a dead rat on my porch, belly eaten out of it. I didn't think too much of it, just went and got a bag and took it out to the dumpster.

The next day, Callie wasn't with her babies when I went out to feed, so I went looking for her. She had become disoriented and had fallen down one of the basement stairs. I carried her back to the front porch and laid her in the chair. I sat on the swing and watched her. She never got off the chair... At 4:00 the sun was shining on her and it was too hot. So I carried her into my bedroom for 'intensive care'. It didn't take me long to realize the rat was poisoned and Callie was dying.

Just after midnight, with me holding her and whispering, 'Keep breathing', she looked straight at me and the light went out of her eyes.

Somewhere before noon (when I got up), Dixie had given birth to her last 4 babies, Winky, Blinky, Noddy and Shadow.

It didn't take me long to realize the kittens were affected by the poison, too, because they had nursed their Mama that first night.

And poor Fancy. He got slammed in the door, then he fell off the porch steps, then he wandered off and I found him on the same basement step I found his Mama. I took him in and put him in intensive care. Then Penny.

Penny died and then Tawny, which I didn't even see coming, then I took
Fancy to Dixie. She didn't nurse him, but she tended him. I'm sure that's what he needed, and he lived to a year and a half. He couldn't run and play like most kittens did, but he learned to climb up on one of these portable file carriers, and was so proud of himself!

Blackie got a full name... Blackie Buck Shot Dreym. His growth was stunted. He never got bigger than a 6 month old kitten, but he made it 2 1/2 years. And he was a little spitfire!

You can see Fancy is already bigger than Blackie after just a few weeks.

Fancy died on September 1, 2015.

Blackie Buck died on November 6, 2016

Holly was the first spayed because she didn't have babies. I took her in on June 27th.

Dixie and Prince were spayed on August 11th.

Gypsy and Shadow on August 18th.

Cisco and Raven neutered on August 21st. (Indoor cats.)

Tootsie and Jackie, August 27th

Fancy and Blackie came downstairs on September 7th.

Jazzy and Jade spayed on September 8th.

I put the ones spayed/neutered outside on September 9th, except for 3 boys that went in for neutering on September 10th, Winky, Blinky and Noddy. Then I put them out the next day.

I had donations of $110 from some wonderful Facebook friends that covered 9 of the spay/neuter charges, then Colony Cats covered the other 5.

.

About June 1, 2015.

I had King for the better part of 3 years. I found him lying in my back yard. He didn't seem to have moved for about 3 days. I finally got curious and went and looked him over. He was friendly enough to let me pick him up and carry him to my front porch.

I got him eating, then realized he had a hole in his neck the size of a 50 cent piece, filled with puss. I'm thinking now it was next to gangrene. I started putting Honey mixed with Butter on it.

Each feeding (twice a day), I would pick him up and fill the hole. Then he would eat, and it would work while he ate. Then he would lick it out! I don't know how he got his tongue there, but he did. It took about 2 months to heal, but I continued to pick him up and put Honey on him for some time, just to keep the bond going.

King ate on my porch with all the rest of the feral strays for about 3 years... then I realized he went 'home'. Home was a house behind me on the next street. I still saw him a lot, and then Tiger started hanging with him. Then they both disappeared.

My thoughts is the old man who lived there moved and after a short time told the workers if they saw his 2 cats to bring them to him.

I never saw King again, but Tiger came back about 2 years later. My theory was King had died and Tiger came back to his 'home'.

A pretty little waif that came thin and sick. I got her eating, feeding her tuna. She seemed to be rallying, but then she stopped eating. The (real) Cat Lady came by and I asked her if she could take her to the shelter. She did, then called me back that Rosalina didn't make it. I only had her for about 30 days. She was such a little sweetheart.

Raven had been hit by a car, injured, but not seriously. So I brought him in the house. When I saw this little tiger stripe crying outside by the neighbor's house, I brought him in, too. They bonded so quickly, I was pretty sure he was one of Dixie's babies that came back.

Jackie was one of Gypsy's babies, born upstairs. When she was little she would follow me around as I cleaned litter boxes, then check them out when I was done. She could barely climb up into them, but she knew what they were for. She was long haired and fluffy, some say she was a Maine Coon, and that may have been.

She was sweet and loving, and I was shocked and didn't understand why she died.

...I realized what had happened. He was loaded with fleas!

I hit Google and discovered fleas could kill cats and dogs! I did not know that.

I brought the cats in the house TO KEEP THEM SAFE. To keep them from getting hit by cars... getting poisoned.... getting scared by fireworks... I never dreamed they would die from FLEAS!

What happens is they become anemic, and even when they do eat, the nutrition goes right to the fleas.

I'm sure that's what took Jackie, and likely Cisco Pike, too. Even little Rosalina may have died from fleas.

It was a painful lesson.

She came from Bonnie's house about May or June, 2015. I rather think she followed Big Boy. She was all black and at first I thought she was Noddy come back. Then I noticed the Mitten toes, thus the name.

She never really lost her feral tendencies. She didn't like to be picked up. Wanted to be grounded. But she loved to give me head butts and I could cuddle her while she was on the island or counter. For that reason, I didn't get a good picture of her. But she was beautiful.

I found my beautiful Blinky had been mauled by my dog, Maui, who simply played too roughly with Blinky.

Her name is Maui Precious Diamond. She came to me Nov. 2, 2011 at about 3 months old. I believe her to be Miniature Dalmation Mix. She weighs about 20 pounds.

She has been caged since Feb. 7, and she cannot live in a cage!

Maui is an adorable dog and very loving. She did not mean to harm Blinky. She has known him since birth. He was 5 years old and a Twin to Winky.
I am heartbroken because I not only lost Blinky, but I am losing Maui, too.

I will be re-homing Maui as soon as possible. She has been crated since the incident. That is not good for her, either, but I do not dare trust her with the other 8 cats and little dog, Rebel.