Losing Harry

Hey Everyone, 

Today my post isn't going to be filled with my normal goofy stuff.  Today I'm going to write about the harder side of life.  With every life, there also comes death.  I had to face death just two weeks ago.  I am just now ready to talk about it. 

On Sunday, October 7th 2012 at 11:30 am I was happy at home.  I was cleaning the bathroom and enjoying the routine of it all.  I then heard a cry.  Not an ordinary kitty cat cry, but a sad, scared cry.  I walked out expecting that my timid mama kitty needed some attention.  But instead, in the hall I found my Harry looking as if he was having a seizure.  My first thought was he's having a seizure... meds, he'll need meds.... vet appts.  I went to him and honestly I wasn't overly concerned because my DiDi kitty as you know, has had these episodes before..... he just needed to get this over with and then we'll get him to the vet for meds.  But my boy didn't get it over with.  The longer it lasted the more freaked out I became..... what seemed like minutes was only seconds when he was taking rasping breaths.... sticking out his tongue.  By now, I'm crying..... yelling his name..... Harry!  Harry!  Come on buddy!  Harry!  I tell my son to call Daddy to see what we should do..... Through tears I give him the phone number...... 

His body then went limp, but I still thought he would come back..... flicker his eyes and wake up.  But he didn't.  I'm rubbing him sobbing..... This can't be happening.... he's only 4 years old.  My son is on the floor with me rubbing him, but surprisingly calm.  I tell my husband over the phone that I think Harry has died..... no pulse, no signs of breathing..... all in all it was about 2 minutes. 

I put his body on a towel and laid him in our sons bathroom until my husband came home.  We were all in shock.  We decided that we would have him cremated, so that if or when we move from this house we could take him with us. 

Now, I know what some of you are thinking.  He's a cat.  It's not like I lost a family member or anything.  But for someone like me..... it is like losing a family member.  I had plans for that boy..... I was hoping to move to a bigger piece of land someday so he and his sister would have a lot of room to romp.  I was going to put his 5 week old picture next to his 5 year old picture on facebook on his birthday..... I was looking forward to at least 17 years with him.  I wanted to see him grow old.....

But he was taken from us just moments after giving him treats and playing with him.  After doing some research, we feel he had the same thing our DiDi has.... Hypertrophic Cardio Myopathy.... thickening of the heart walls.  Very hard to detect and often the first symptom is death. 

We had his remains sent to Valley Pet Crematory.  We did a private cremation and received his beautiful box of ashes back just a couple days ago.  We have his collar sitting on top of his box.  They did a wonderful job.  Seeing the box pulled away any healing we had done since surrendering his body to our vet.  The hurt felt as fresh as the day it happened.  But he is home now.  He will always be in our hearts. 

The only good thing that came out of this is that we were home and by his side when it happened.  We know that even though his life was short, it was a comfortable and spoiled life.  :) 

It's still weird not having him snuggle up with me under the covers, (yes, he insisted on being under the covers!)  his sister lays next to me instead now.....

My son is handling it ok.  At first he was just mad.  This cat loved Ashton from the very beginning.  Ashton's energy never scared him. He would follow him around and just rub him..... so, this has been tough on my son.  After he was over being mad.... he cried and cried.  When we got back his ashes, he said a few words and put his ashes on our shelf.... kissing the top of the box. 

So, that is the story of losing our boy Harry.  I could go on and on telling stories of how sweet he was..... but I won't. 

It's time to say goodbye to my dear boy. 

Enjoy the every day.

Hello Everyone,

Fall is here.  Sunset comes earlier and the air is chillier.  I'm looking forward to the coming holidays and everything that comes with it.  Snuggling up on the couch with my kitties, reading a book with my son and eating up yummy food.  I've learned alot this year and one thing I've learned is that life is so precious and we never know when our time is up.  We need to enjoy the everyday.  The pretty predictable, dare I say boring parts of our lives are probably the ones that we would miss the most if taken away from us.  So love on your honey, squeeze your kids and cuddle cuddle cuddle those pets. 

Love every second.

Until Next Time Friends.....

The story of Tater and Wormy.

Hey Everybody,

This past spring I read a post on Homestead Acres where her kids enjoyed catching caterpillars and keeping them.  She said they really enjoyed watching the process of them going into the cocoons and later coming out a butterfly or moth. 

So today, I tell you the story of Wormy and Tater.

Wormy was a sweet little caterpillar than was hanging out by our door at our store.  We don't know how he got there since apparently none of his "host plants" are no where to be found around the store.  So we decided to take him home.  He is a Black Swallowtail caterpillar and the things he likes to eat is dill, carrot, fennel and other herbs.  So, we put him in our carrot patch in the backyard.  There he stayed until one day I noticed that he was no longer Wormy, but a woody looking cocoon.  He is now waiting for spring in our sitting room. 

We were shocked and surprised that Wormy completed his cocoon so soon, so we decided to bring in one of the Tomato Horn Worms.  We named him Tater.  We had him happily set up with green tomatoes in a fish bowl for about a week.  Until this happened.

See those tiny white things sticking off the back of this horn worm?  (That's not Tater by the way) Those white things are wasp larvae.  The wasps basically inject eggs into the worm and the larvae eggs grow and grow until they basically eat the worm from the inside out.  This is actually a good thing for gardeners because these little buggers can devastate your garden!  However, our Tater didn't have these eggs on him and he was easily as big as the one pictured here.  So we thought we were in the clear.  But one day, he stopped pooping.  Which in the worm world is bad news.  They can produce enough frass that you need to clean the fishbowl daily!  Then the next day, he had tiny white eggs appearing on his body.  So I took his little self out to the garden and said goodbye. 

There you have it.  The story of Tater and Wormy.  Wormy we'll see in the spring.  Tater Tot, we'll catch him next year in the tomato bed!