Annie,
I'm saddened by this news and deeply touched by your e-mail. Simms
sounds like a wonderful guy, and you loved him very much. Thank you
for taking care of him and giving so much of yourself.
Lance
On Apr 21, 2007, at 11:36 PM, Annieb wrote:
Simms was 4 years old and feline leukemia positive. I had
hopes that he was just a carrier as he did so well for the first
three years I had him with me but he became very ill a couple
of months ago, with sneezing and lots of congestion.
He was very special. Such a big sweet guy. He had this
tender, kind of puzzled but curious, look about him and he
never fought with anyone. He was very friendly with the other cats,
such a sweetheart. This list's dear Tamara found him
at a beautiful waterfront park there in Maryland, along with
his brother, Tambours. She posted on this very list about his
needing a home and that he was feline leukemia positive. I
was lucky enough to be chosen by Tamara. As I told her
today on the phone, I thanked her for giving him to me
because he gave me just pure joy and sunshine every single
day. Tamara loved him so much that she drove 18 hours
(wasn't it, T?), straight, to deliver him to me in Michigan from
Maryland. (She also brought me Sophie that day, to those
of you who are familiar with Sophie).
He was a pretty peachy shade of color with that lovely
target-shaped swirl on his sides and big creamy white feet
and some white on his chest and face, too. He had big, tall
elegant ears that I loved to stroke when he let me, finally. He
was pretty big but when he meowed, it was so soft and high
pitched, it was adorable. He didn't meow often as he was
very uncomplaining. When Tamara left him with me, she
told me I would find that he was a very special cat and she
was right, indeed. :-)
He must have died overnight, although he still felt a bit
warm when I lifted him. I woke up and thought he was not
breathing so I let the dogs out and had a better look and yes,
my sweet darling boy is gone. His eyes were half open but
he did not look scared or in pain. He was stretched out like
he was having a good nap and his whiskers were pointing
forward. I'm not sure what that meant but I am consoling
myself by thinking he did go peacefully and unafraid.
I got a package from Tamara yesterday. She had sent
two kitty pop-up tents for Simms and the other cats, to cheer
Simms up. They are so cool! He was not interested in the
tent but he did want to sleep on the crinkly soft pad.
I am kind of in shock and grief-torn because I thought he
was doing a bit better after seeming like he would die earlier
this week. He was diagnosed with either pneumonia or
cancer last month and had been on two antibiotics at a time
for a while and single antibiotics constantly, along with pain
meds towards the end. He wouldn't eat during his last week
or so but he would let me force-feed him A/D and chicken
baby food along with squirts of water all day long. He was a
bit interested in the window and the birdies outside
yesterday and he let me stroke his soft head over and over
which he never trusted me to do much, previously, so I had
thought maybe he was a bit better and would continue to
heal.
I buried him earlier today with his Christmas stocking and
his little mouse and this cute stuffed animal that Tamara sent with
him, a purple beanbag bear. It was a beautiful day and that
just made it even harder. He was such a dear polite gentle
sweet funny gentleman of a cat, a very special, loving boy
and I loved him mightily.
Here is a link to a few of my favorite photos of him that
I uploaded online in case someone would like to see what
he looked like: http://tinyurl.com/38skop
Well, sorry for this being so long but I know you guys, if anyone,
would understand.
Anne and angels Simms, Jimi Too Cool and Bugsy
along with Sophie and my other living cats and dogs in Michigan
