There's an Empty Spot on the Couch Today

We lost an incredible little cat yesterday to kidney failure. She was my sister's cat, really, but since we lived next door to each other for years before purchasing a house together three years ago, she feels as much a part of my furry family as hers.




Dear Tigger was a brown tabby with a heart of gold. She was given to my sister by my niece who felt she was too "needy". She just wanted some attention and she demanded it whenever she felt the need to be pet. She was one of those cats that when you reached down to pet her she met you half way by lifting her front end off the floor to push her head into your hand.


Tigger on the back, with Lindsey in the seat and her brother Howie on the floor. Howie and Lindsey are Manx.

Tigger was just all around perfect. She has accepted every other cat that Melissa has taken in over the years, and she treated each one in the same motherly way. Holding them down and giving baths whether they liked it or not!

Tigger had just given Lindsey a bath who was ready to leave now

Tigger was only diagnosed with CRF (chronic renal failure) a little over a week ago, but up until then, other than losing a little weight, she really didn't show any indication that she was sick. She was attacked almost a month ago by the family's Siberian Husky and suffered an abcess on her face. She recovered quickly with antibiotics, but then just never quite seemed right after. We thought that maybe she still had a bit of infection and needed a longer course of antibiotics when I brought her back for a recheck. Bloodwork revealed the ugly truth. CRF so advanced that it was only a matter of days before she would lose her battle. Sure enough, a week later, she stopped eating and drinking and just looked miserable.


She headbutted everyone she encountered at the vet's yesterday, and purred right up until her last breath. She was a special little being who will be sorely missed around here, and her spot on the back of the couch is looking mighty empty....

Just this past Monday

Brave Little Girls

Say hello to Lulu

Lulu and Poppy have been here for two and a half months and though they are still very frightened of me, they have become brave enough to venture out of their cage into the playpen that I made for them. They are very skittish, even though they've been in a number of times now, but I'm hoping with time they will learn that nothing is going to hurt them.

I put their small travel cage in the playpen as a safety zone if they wanted to go in it. They both went in and then decided to venture back out and I caught this adorable picture of them hanging off the edge.

Lulu's primary mission when she's in the playpen is to find a way to jump out. If there is anything in there for her to stand on, she backs up to get a running start and I have to stop her from jumping, the little stinker! I need to make something higher so she can run around longer without me worrying about her escaping.

Hey, Poppy, do you see any way out?

I don't see any openings over here, Lulu.

A few weeks ago, I bought them a soft, cuddly bird bed that is lined with fluffy pink material. Lulu was the first to try to get into it, but her butt was too big. I had to take it out and enlarge the hole so she could fit. The first night it was in there the girls "modified" it to include a large hole in the back corner and removed some fluff to get it just right. Now it's their favorite sleeping place and there's always one or the other in it. I really need to pick up a few more because it won't be long before it has to be replaced. They have a beautiful hammock in the cage too, but Lulu has only been in it once and Poppy will only get in it if I put treats in it, and that's only long enough to grab and run! LOL!

Lulu in the bed before renovations

Poppy after renovations have started

Sweet little Poppy

Adorable little Lulu, who bit me right before I took this photo!