I know I am going to have a hard time with this post. I know I have to get all of this out. One of our other cats, Zeus is lying under the desk while I type this, purring up a storm like he always does. He must know that he is helping me to be calm.
One of our cats, Sasha, passed away last night. We were out at the Empire and Eastern Holiday dinner and when we got home, I was walking up the stairs to feed the cats. I found her lying on the stairs and she was unresponsive. I screamed for Darrin. We hadn't taken a close look yet and we thought it was Bandit, our cat who has had the sniffles and is going to the vet today to get checked out. We started CPR, wrapped her in a towel and sped off to the emergency clinic. She was still warm at this point. By the time we got there and handed her to the vet, she was gone.
Sasha was born on August 24, 2007. She was the kitten of Bandit and Misty. Darrin and his mom helped with the birth. I was not around at this point. Darrin and I were just friends. Sasha was the first one born. She had 2 siblings; Zeus and Angel. They were born in that order. Here is a photo of Sasha a few days after she was born. She is being held by my mother in law.
This is another photo with her and her siblings nursing from Misty. Sasha is the one in the middle, Zeus is cuddling Misty, Angel is the one on the end.
This is a photo of Sasha with Angel and Zeus. Again, Sasha is the one in the middle and, Angel is next to her and Zeus is barely visible in the frame on the bottom.
These are some photos that I took with Darrin's camera after I moved in. This is one of her and Zeus on the stairs...their favorite place to hang out and wait for us to get home. Toward the end, Sasha had taken a liking to wait for me to come home on the chair by the front door. I am really going to miss seeing her squint at me when I walk in the door after work. Zeus is on the left, Sasha is on the right.
Sasha LOVED windows. She loved to watch the birds and squirrels and talk to them. She was such a talkative kitty. A lot of the time she would just walk through the house, just talking to herself and then look at me to see if I agreed with what she was saying. I am really going to miss our conversations.
This one was taken on a winter's day in 2008 when we opened the windows to air out the house. As you can tell, they all loved the open window. Sasha is the one looking at the camera, as if to say "This is MY window, please tell them to leave!". Left to right: Angel, Misty, Zeus, Bandit, Sasha.
Sasha adored boxes. Didn't matter what size the box was, she had to get into it.
She was a very diplomatic cat. She rarely fought with the other cats. Sasha was always there for them to lean on and cuddle with if one of the other cats needed it. This is a photo of her and Zeus on a pile of Darrin's laundry.
This is a photo of her just chilling with Angel.
This is another photo of her cuddling with Zeus. She was his pillow, kind of like my sneakers are his pillow at the moment. Guess he is telling me I can't go anywhere until I finish this!
This is my all time favorite photo of Bandit and Sasha. You can tell they are father and daughter. I just love the love that existed between them. Bandit is on the left, Sasha is on the right.
Even when we brought Monte in, she loved him. They were buddies right from the beginning. They may not have cuddled together, but they had each other's back. These photos are from when Monte was a few month old.
The one thing she didn't like was when another cat tried to share the catnip on her. She loved her catnip.
I am really going to miss her helping me out around the hosue. She used to love hanging out in the kitchen, meowing at me with enthusiasm to tell me that I was cooking something wrong. She also love to lay on the laundry when I was trying to fold socks. Sasha also loved to attack the sheets when I was making the bed.
One of the things she knew how to do was get comfortable ANYWHERE! She adored being on my crocheted afghans. She liked to knead them while she was falling asleep.
This is the last photo I got of Sasha while she was helping me wrap our friend's daughter's birthday present yesterday morning. She was fine then. She was a little tired, but she always is sleepy at that time of the day because she is up all night. Misty was with her in this photo.
I still can't believe that she is gone. It just happened so quick and Darrin and I are still in shock. Some people may think I am nuts for loving our cats this much, but Darrin and I don't have any kids at this point. Our cats are our kids. I am going to leave you with Rainbow Bridge.
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown...
