MaryChristine, What is it about those sassy, fiesty, independant calico girls that makes us love them so? We must be suckers for punishment, cause they sure do love to dole it out. One of mine is ancient, weighs less than 6 lbs, toothless and I still can't pill her. She's the smallest cat of the bunch, but she can move a 15 lb male from his bowl of canned food just by staring at him. I'm crazy about her and I celebrate her attitude.
--- On Wed, 8/12/09, MaryChristine <[email protected]> wrote: From: MaryChristine <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Thank you for your help To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 11:12 AM i think it's really natural for us to want to try EVERYTHING to help our beloved ones, even when, sometimes, it's in our best interests and not really theirs. that's what i believe that i have learned from my cats in their final days..... i know that, early on, i kept some of mine around longer than i would do now, but not from meanness, rather from lack of awareness. i had to learn... to separate out their needs from mine, to ask them what they needed, to truly listen to what they were telling me. people learn at different rates; i try very hard (not always successfully, as those reading another FeLV list can attest) not to judge others' progress..... i actually have a kitty in terminal crf right now; she bit the hell out of me the last two times i tried to hydrate her. she's my remaining heartcat, and her refusing treatment is killing me--but how can i not honor her choices, after all she's given me through the years? she's the official international spokescat for the Calico Liberation Coalition, CaLiCo, a 4-paw-declawed, harlequin girl that refuses to purr tho will, very occasionally, practice Rhythmic Growling--to force her to do anything would be an assault on her very cathood..... she's someplace close to 16 years old, and has blessed my life with bite wounds and attiTUDE for over ten years now--i adore her, and know completely that in her furry little multicolored heart, she feels the same way toward me. i will do what is best for her when her job on this earth is complete; no matter how much it pains me--i know that she will tell me if she needs help, tho actually i'm just hoping she'll allow me to be with her when the time comes, and not just leave me an email..... the wisest advice i've ever gotten, though, is that it's best to send them across the bridge one day too soon, than five minutes too late. feeling guilty about their, "not being ready," when they weren't yet suffering, is pointless, but nothing compared to the knowledge that one has waited too long..... sometimes, tho, we need to go through the latter to understand. we need to be gentle with one another as we learn these horrible lessons. and hope that what we learn so painfully can help someone else learn them with less difficulty. -- Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... MaryChristine Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue (www.purebredcats.org) Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team) _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
