I adopted Smudge from a horrible environment where the lady had cats everywhere that you could look. None were spayed or neutered, and they just kept on breeding. She even had cats in the motor home in her drive way!!

There were lots and lots of all white kitties. We chose Smudge because he had the tiniest little black spot on his forehead. We took the sad looking flea infested kitten home and gave him a bath and flea combed him till there were no fleas left.

We took him to the vet and got his first shots, and we treated him for the roundworms and coccidia that he had. When he was well, we introduced him to Mystic.

She didn't really like the kitten, but they lived peacefully.

I thought this kitten was the dumbest cat I had ever been around. Mystic came when you called her, but Smudge didn't listen in the least. You would tell him to get down off of something, and he'd just ignore you until you got up and shooed him off. Then, one day when I was vacuuming, he jumped on the canister part of the vacuum and rode it around the apartment. I finally realized that he wasn't dumb....he was DEAF! Actually, he was very very smart.

I taught him hand signals. I would rap the floor to get his attention, and make a signal, and he would get down from what he was on.

We found out that he loved to go outside and walk on a leash. He would walk straight down the sidwalk, just like a dog. People looked at me like I was nuts for taking my cat for walks. When we got our Chihuahua, we walked them both together. People really thought we were nuts then. The best part was that neighbor dogs could bark their heads of, and Smudge didn't care. Nothing spooked him.

He slept around my head like a head band every night. And I wasn't allowed to move either, or I'd get a paw to the eye. I was only allowed to have a small corner of the pillow.

When he became a year old, he began to lose weight. X-rays, bloodwork, urinalysis, and ultrasounds only showed that he had small irregular shaped kidneys, and that he constantly had blood in his urine, no matter what medicine we put him on, steriods, antibiotics..nothing helped. The doctors said his case was strange, and he was probably born that way. We gave him special food low in protien so that his kidneys didn't have to work as hard.

He hid and slept all the time, and began to only be able to make it 1/4 of the way around the block on his walks before he collapsed, and I carried him the rest of the way.

He was still eating, even though he was down to 4#. He got the nick name of bones. I was on the look out for when it was time, but he still ate and drank, and still slept around my head every night.

Then at the end of this May, one week before my wedding, Smudge stopped eating. The next day he began staggering and falling down. In my heart I knew.

My soon to be husband and I took him to the vet. Smudgie's breath smelled if urine. His kidneys had failed him.

I looked at my poor kitty, skin and bones and on deaths door, and I wished he didn't have to go so soon. He was only 2 years old. I held him for the last time as my vet gave him the shot to put him out of his pain.

I kept a lock of his fur so I had a keepsake of my special kitty, and I will remember him always. I affectionately call him my "mutant cat." For all of his problems, from the very beginning to the end of his short life, he was a very special kitty in all respects.

Have fun playing with the other rainbow kitties until we meet again. I know that you are now back up to #8 and full of energy finally healthy. Farewell Smudgie, someday I will meet you on the other side of the rainbow bridge and we will go for a long walk and when we get tired you can have the whole pillow, as long as you sleep around my head once more.

I would like to tell you about two little girls that went over the Rainbow Bridge and are now reunited with their mom.

I came to Canada , from Germany , at the end of July to visit my fiance. At this time she was fostering abused and neglected cats, and thier little ones, in her home.The day before I arrived, she got a call that another cat family, that had been found on the roadside, needed a home. So with open heart they came to us. One large wild mommy and her five 1 1/2 week old babies. This would make 10 cats at our home. Very soon after their and my arrival, we found from mommy's behaviour that she was very much a stray cat and wanted her freedom back, and was not use to human contact at all. She was very good about letting us handle her babies though. After two days, she found a weak spot in the screens and was out and running again. With the help of some friends and a can of tuna, two days later we had her back. During the time that she was gone , we bottlefed and took care of the little ones as close to how a mother cat would as possible. It was then that a deep love for these little furballs started developing in us all. Another week passed and we had hoped all would be fine now between mommy and babies. Wild Woman ( that is what we named mommy) was feeding and caring for them as she should be. But then during the middle of the night, she became very agitated and started attacking everything, even her own babies! We rushed her to the vets , and after a full physical. the vet suspected Rabies and poor Wild Woman had to be put to sleep. We now had 5 three week old kittens to raise without a mommy. Again , we started the bottlefeeding and the bonding became even more intense with them. We knew that we would keep them with us and help them grow and become big , strong healthy cats. We gave them all the love and warmth these little creatures needed..showing them all we could, even helping them to start to use the litter box on their own. This was a very happy time for us all. The naming was so difficult , because we wanted to suit each ones personality. After some thought, we decided on Fluffy, Arkon, Goober, Roswell II and Olivia. Then it was time for me to go back home to Germany. All appeared healthy and happy and well on their way to becoming fine young ladies.

I would receive daily reports from Becky on the babies. They were clowns! They followed her the same as they would their mommy, took baths with her, slept on her chest all night, suckled on her lips and chin, cried if she was not with them and generally terrorized all the older cats! Being very normal little kitties. Then after some weeks, the smallest , Olivia, started having some health problems.She was losing weight and not eating too well. Becky did her best to nurse her back to normal. Then all of the sudden one night , when all were sleeping on Becky's chest, little Olivia, had a heart attack. Becky called the emergency vet ,and started warming the kitten on a hot water bottle, using an eye dropper to get warm water into her, rubbing the little one to help her circulation and to keep her warm, everything the emergency vet told her to do. But the poor little thing did not get any better. So even when it was the hardest thing for her to do, Becky stopped the treatment that was prolonging the little ones death, wrapped her in a warm towel, held her close to her heart, and surrounded little Olivia in all our love, hers,mine and all the other cats at the apartment,and let her go to be with her mommy. It was a very hard day for both us ,as she emailed me at work to tell me our littlest one had went over the Rainbow Bridge to be reunited with her mommy. I sat at my desk and cried. Becky at home. These little furballs had come to be a very important part of our lives..one that filled our hearts with love. In fact, during a very difficult time for Becky, their love helped her through it.

Two weeks later, Goober ( who was her favourite) and Roswell,started having problems using the litter and began losing weight. She took them to the vet ,and they were put on a high protien diet, and meds to get them back on their feet. Roswell took to these very well and started getting better immediately. But two days and so many hopes later, little Goober collapsed and was brought to the vets. It was decided that she would not make it and the vet felt the best thing to do was to put her to sleep and end her pain.Again, as much as was possible, another of our little ones was surrounded in love and held close as the injections were given. That night little Goober crossed the Rainbow Bridge, to meet her family already there. We both know that all three are waiting there to be reunited with us ,and that one day we will all be together again. They died way to early, but we know that in their short lives, they felt the love , kindness and warmth all animals should have. They had a very very good home,people that loved them and all the care they could ever need. Becky and I know they have been very happy cats. We are very sure that we saved their lives many times, when we gave them a loving home,and took them off the roadside, when we bottlefed them for the two days and as we nursed eahc one through the tough times of not having a mommy. They added much joy to our lives and they are greatly missed by myself, Becky, Tigger, Miss Hissy, Lady Cally (the Canadain part of our cat family) and Miss Cherry ( the German part of our little cat family) We miss them so very much and hardly a day goes by that they are not thought of and are in our hearts. As I write these words, I am crying, and I know my fiance will too as she reads them, but I wanted to tell all of you about our beloved little babies..a special gift that will be with us forever.

December 5, 1998

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