Bye Bye Love

Yesterday, we lost our last kitty--our beloved Hobie. He had either kidney cancer or feline infectious peritonitis--both of which are terminal and not treatable, so we chose to put him to sleep. All of us went to see him and give him a last hug, kiss, and pet. And his Daddy held him tight as he left us.

Hobie came to us by way of my parents and a visit to a friend's farm in Hobart, New York-hence, his name. He fell in love with Bob over a Thanksgiving weekend, and Bob fell in love right back. Hobie was the one who opened our hearts to being a house with pets before we had a baby.

He was a really playful kitten. Bob was remembering yesterday how he loved to tangle with jewelry and a little Raggedy Ann doll thay he used to assault. As he grew, he mellowed and became a snuggly, loving companion.

Here are our three boys together as we'd frequently find them. Tangled up on our bed in a furry knot of tumbling love . Now they are all gone. And we are the lesser for it.

Rest in peace Hobie--The Lion of Bankbarn. We love you and are thankful for all the joy you brought to our lives.

New iPod Docking Station

Connor got $45 worth of iTunes gift cards for his birthday and he used some of it yesterday to buy some TV shows and rent 2 movies. He watched "Lego-Clutch Powers", I don't know, 85 times yesterday? After a busy afternoon of baseball and playing in the hood, I found him settled down here in the Love Sac at around 8pm. He'd been quiet, so I knew he was watching something. But what I loved was the creative docking station. Now that's a good kitty!

R.I.P. Buddy Tate

Well, our sweet Buddy had to leave us last night. It was a sad goodbye. He was acutely ill with unexplained liver failure and diabetes and after 5 days in the feline hospital on antibiotics and an I.V., we made the impossible decision to end his suffering. We could have taken him to the feline internist and had a sonogram for a mere $650--but our vet was relatively sure he had either an acute liver infection, hepatitis, or a tumor. Best case scenario he might have survived with surgery or long-term intensive care. Poor baby.

Our vet, Dr. Jones at Ashburn Veterinary, was fantastic. So was everyone else who worked there, especially Renee at the feline hospital. We had some nice time with our boy before the end. We tried to feed him one last time (he stopped eating a week ago) and shared one last drink of water with him (he loved his H2O because of the diabetes). We had some fantastic last hugs and petting. He loved us and we loved him. His human Daddy held him close as he passed away. It was peaceful and it was good to see the pain and fear stop. When we left, he was resting in peace on a fuzzy blanket. I hope there is ALOT of Fancy Feast wherever he is going.

Believe it or not, we're really not "cat people". We've stumbled into a life with cats and it has been richer for it. Buddy was our second--he was to be "mine" because our first boy, Hobie, loved Bob so much I wanted a kitty for myself. But that was futile. From Day 1, Buddy was Bob's. We adopted him when he was about one year-old from the Feline Foundation. He was rescued by a kind woman in Harpers Ferry. She found him alone and hungry out in the snow under a deck. She wanted to keep him, but her existing cats were freaked out, so after several months of trying to make it work, she gave him up for adoption. For five years after we got him, she sent regular e-mails checking on him. He touched her life, too. Bob told me last night that he wants to track her down to thank her for giving him to us one more time.

Buddy wasn't your typical cat--he was more like a dog. He greeted us at the door and spent his time by our side. He even tolerated Connor's constant attacks and tackles. His people were his pack.

We will miss him so, our sweet black and white, our Buddy Love.