At 5 pm on a snowy winter's evening...

...we said good-bye to our little cat, Bones.

She was close to 18 years old. We had her well before several grandchildren, during several country-wide moves and was the last of the little "tribe" of family pets that my own children knew..she came to us at 8 weeks..

Her kidneys gave out. She wouldn't eat. She wasn't in pain (or that we knew) but she slept a lot and drank lots of water - but no food...

The Doc thought it was in her best interest and all....


But it still hurts us. And we are in pain...


However, I wanted to share some of her funny, grand and elegant moments..




She had one ear bent over- when she was younger she was quite a "looker" - and I think she was probably in a real "cat-fight" when her ear was damaged. Doc tried to repair it and he did, but she had this little turned-down ear for the rest of her life...

She was not afraid of dogs. As a matter of fact, she thought them quite silly. And dumb. She'd swat Charlie as he walked down the stairs. (She was laying on her back on a lower step and get him as he walked past, never seeing her svelte body..) If you listened carefully enough, you could almost hear her giggle in delight...

She could bully the best of them...until Lulu (the Princess Warrior) came home to live with us.


The first time Lulu spotted Bones, she was inquisitive but not combative. Until, that is, Bones decided to swat her like she had Charlie for so long and how she continued with Braxton with absolutely no repercussions.

As I said, that was BEFORE she met Lulu...



Lulu was like "What the heck! Oh no you di-ent just swat me!!?" Girl, you're gettin' on my last nerve..."

Soon, Bones decided that the top of the house was not big enough for the both of them, so she moved downstairs to my Mother-in-Law's apartment. There she was once again the Queen- the only pet- the pampered one..

Braxton and Lulu were not allowed down into the Queen's quarters - and there she lived, happy and pampered for the rest of her days.

The occasional outings in the sun, the checking to see if the dogs were in the yard or not, became fewer and fewer.

She slept more, played less. But she always, always, was beautiful, elegant, kitten-like and playful.....on HER terms..

I held her tonight, stoked her and told her it was OK to go..she nudged her little head under my hand and let me rub her chin...she was in a special little soft-bed and was warm and happy. She was given the dose in her already-placed IV from last evening...so there was no pain..only the sweetness of the moment..and she was gone.


She is preceded in death by her sister, Noodles, her good friend, Sam the cat, Little old Mary-Kate ,our adopted Maltese, and her doggie-brother Charlie.

She is survived by Braxton, Lulu and many children and grandchildren that loved her. And by her Grandma - that took such delight in her constant presence for the past 5 years.

And of course, she is missed already. By us. By all of us.

-me