You are now entering Queenie's quarters:

We cordoned off our rarely used upstair's sitting area to be used for fostering along with a spare bedroom behind the screen:

Here is Queenie in her bedroom:

We decided to foster Queenie because the shelter we volunteer at believed her to be pregnant.  After she had been with us for about two weeks with no increase in her belly size, we decided to take her to the vet.  It turned out that she is not pregnant after all - which of course is a GOOD thing!  This is especially so since the people who brought her to the shelter also had several kittens with them she had just had :/  If only people would spay and neuter their pets, it would make such a BIG difference!!!

I have put Queenie on Petfinder and set up her spay appointment.  I am so attached to this beautiful, sweet cat that LOVES to talk.  She will make someone a wonderful companion!

Fostering is difficult because you do get so attached to them, but  it does make a difference.  We weren't able to foster during Coco's illness, but beginning to again a few months ago has helped fill the hole left in my heart by Coco's passing.

Queenie:

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope everyone has a wonderful start to their week :)

Coco
May 29th, 2005 - March 19 2010

"Do not stand on 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's rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in the 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."
- Unknown

Here is Coco's sister Chanel sitting next to Coco's urn:

 Here is Peanut sleeping on Coco's treasure box of favorite toys and other special items:

One of my favorie photos of Coco.  She was in a remission at the time that lasted about a year.  No matter what was happening then, everything seemed great during this time:

Here is Sasha.  We adopted her five weeks to the day after Coco passed away.  She had just barely gotten to the shelter so we had to take her straight to the vet.  The vet said she was five weeks old.
Coco's photo albums and memory book:

 


I was able to record a lot of great memories and characteristics of Coco's personality in these books.  Making it and having it are very helpful.  Our other pets and Sasha have been good too. Sasha is A LOT like Coco <3

I hope this didn't make anyone sad.  It wasn't meant to.  Thanks for stopping by :)

I know what everyone is thinking when they see this photo.  If I were any of you, I would think that I adopted the two Himalayan Persians pictured above.  The truth is I would love to adopt them, but they are up for adoption at my local SPCA.  These two beautiful five year old brothers are very sad and scared.  Their mom needed to go to a nursing home where she could no longer care for them :(  They are very healthy and were extremely well taken care of, but now they don't dare leave each other's side.  They are never not laying right beside each other or on top of each other.  I pray they are adopted together soon.  I have been thinking fo a long time that I would like to have my own cat sanctuary and these two have made me think even more seriously about this.  After spending more and more time at the shelter I am taking steps toward making this happen .

Please remember the homeless animals at your local shelter this Christmas.  There is so much we all can do to make a difference.  I know I've said it before, but when you breed or buy, others in shelters die.

Thanks for stopping by!

Definition of revelation *

3.

Theology .

a.

God's disclosure of Himself and His will to His creatures.

b.

an instance of such communication or disclosure.

c.

something thus communicated or disclosed.

* http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/revelation

I am especially thankful this Thursday because all of my pets are healthy :)  We went through the scare with Chanel's 15% weight loss and Sasha vomiting and not eating for almost 3 days.  Sasha has been back to her normal happy self and Chanel is back to her normal weight of 8 lbs 6 ounces. 

So, now onto my big revelation.  Coco passed away almost nine months ago and as you all know I've struggled enormously with her loss. It was the first time I'd dealt with death so close to home and it was especally hard for me because she was only five years old.  Last week I was walking around in a store trying to hold back the tears because EVERYTHING - blankets, toys, dishes, cat beds, you name it reminded me of Coco for one reason or another.  Trust me I know it all sounds a little crazy!  I was basically feeling sorry for myself and very miserable.  Some days are better than others, but trust me I have had one too many like the one I am describing over the past nine months.  When I arrived home I realized Sasha has been vomiting and not eating.  I was very afraid after she was still not eating two days later and acting so lethargic which is so not like her.  I began to realize how much I have to be thankful for.  All of my pets are so special and I know Coco would want me to be grateful for them and not moping around being sad.

Don't get me wrong, I'll still have "those"days thinking about Coco and she will always have a BIG special place in my heart.  However, the events of the last week have been a revelation in that I know I need to focus on the present and the future and those who depend on me :) 

Thanks for reading and I hope this holiday season brings joy and happiness for all of you!

This weekend I was supposed to be in Boston with my husband on a business trip.  I would have been able to see my friend Mita from Kindergarten and stay at a nice hotel with a tunnel connecting to an even nicer  and very big mall.

Sasha became ill last Thursday.  She was vomiting a clear liquid which probably meant she hadn't eaten for a long time.  She became a little lethargic which is SO not like her.  We ended up taking her to the emergency vet clinic at 2 AM fearing that she had some sort of blockage.  They took an x-ray which revealed nothing.  They gave her some anti-nausea medicine and told us to follow up with our regular vet if need be.  Well, she wouldn't eat the next day and got sick again.  We took her to her regular vet and had a full panel of blood work.  I didn't feel comfortable leaving her with a pet sitter so I decided to skip my trip to Boston.  She ended up not eating much for almost 2 whole days no matter what I tried.  She even turned her nose up at tuna fish!   I got really scared.  I'm not sure if we over reacted due to what we went through with Coco or not.   Her blood work was fine and the vet felt that she simply had an upset stomach from something she ate, but we have no idea what.  She seems all better now  :D.  She is back to her constantly purring and super cuddly self.

I'm glad I skipped Boston, but now I need to figure out how to get my Christmas shopping finished :/

Thanks for visiting.  I will resume the Monday Grump Test next week.  Have a wonderful day!