|
|
Kizzie came to live with us in 1978 and stayed
for nineteen years! I can't think of Kiz without shedding tears. This little kitty has a
spot in my heart that no other animal will ever be able to fill.
We adopted Kizzie from the Scott County Humane Society as a companion for our other cat,
Annie.  She was such a small little thing and had blue eyes that were
nearly bigger than she was. You never had a doubt when she was in the purr was as loud as
a large cat! Kizzie was a stray that was part Siamese and part "street walker".
She and Annie were so close that you would have thought they were mama and baby! We
weren't concerned about the Siamese in her, until our first daughter was born. We had
always heard that Siamese cats had a temper, and were afraid that maybe we'd have to find
her a different home. We'd never seen her temper, but with a new baby, we didn't want to
take any chances. Our fears were completely unfounded! Kizzie became Dawn's
"guardian". We knew they were going to be okay when we brought Dawn home, and
Kizzie brought Dawn a present- a rather mangled dead mouse on our front step.
At naptime, she would sleep outside Dawn's door. When she would hear Dawn stirring, she
would come and get me. We lived in a mobile home, and they are generally quite open. Our
living room and kitchen area were basically one long room, and when I would be cooking or
doing dishes, or other "mom" things, Kizzie would stand guard over Dawn. One
particular day, Kiz was curled up on the floor by Dawn's infant seat, while I was doing
dishes. When Dawn woke and started crying, Kizzie came running out to the sink, where I
was doing the dishes, and put her paws up on the cabinet doors, meowing at me to attend
Dawn. She would then run back into Dawn and meow, then back to me, and back to Dawn, until
I got my hands wiped and got Dawn's bottle made. When Dawn was satisfied with her bottle,
Kizzie curled up at my feet and watched Dawn eat!
We always tried to teach our daughters to handle a pet with love and care-as much as you
would handle a baby. On occasion Dawn would get a little rambunctious and Kizzie never,
ever scratched her or tried to bite her. She started out as MY cat, but quickly became
Dawn's! Although, she was now Dawn's cat, she was a very polite cat. When Jennifer, our
second daughter was born, Kizzie also brought her the traditional "new baby
present" - a rather mangled dead mouse on the front steps! Jen loved Kiz, too, but
just didn't have the bond that Dawn and I had with her.
Time flew by, and before you knew it Kizzie was getting on in age and the girls were
growing up. For many years Kizzie would sleep in Dawn's bed, but when we got a new puppy,
and Cody decided Dawn's room was THE place to sleep, Kizzie came back into bed with Daniel
and me! She would curl up at my head, and eventually end up curled up around my feet.
Kizzie and Cody never did become friends. He as in HER house, and even though Cody is a
rather large dog (he's a shepherd/collie mix), he'd back off from her wrath! She had no
front claws, but Cody still didn't want to mess with her! In time, we also had other cats
come and live with us, and Kizzie didn't like them either! Believe me -they all kept their
distance from "the queen"!
With Dawn's room rapidly becoming the Pet Motel, Kizzie spent more time with me again. I'm
an avid reader, and read nearly every night before I go to sleep. Kizzie would curl up
next to me, and rest her front paws on my arm. Every now and then, I'd get a little
"meow" and some pressure on my arm. It wasn't the kind of "kneading"
cats do -it was a bonafide hug! When I'd turn off the light, she'd go to her
"spot" in the corner of the bed, and eventually end up at my feet.
During a "love session" with Kiz one-day, I felt a lump in her mammary area. Not
thinking anything of it, I didn't call the vet. On the advice of a friend (who is rather
knowledgeable with animals), we just watched it, and didn't worry about it. In fact, we
rather forgot about it. The lump wasn't growing, spreading or changing, so we didn't think
there was anything wrong. We couldn't have been farther from the truth.
Several weeks later, when getting ready for bed, I noticed a spot of what appeared to be
blood on the comforter, when Kizzie got up to say hello. Panic nearly set in, and I laid
Kizzie down, and noticed the lump had gotten very large and was now oozing. I called our
vet, and he told me to bring her in the next day. That day was one of the saddest days I
think I've ever had. He examined Kizzie, and said that they she had cancer throughout her
entire mammary area and was also suffering from renal kidney failure. He told me the
options and told me to take her home and discuss it with our family. Surgery was out of
the question in our eyes. She was 19 years old and we were afraid that the stress of
surgery would kill her. So, we chose to let her live her life out at home. We were so
concerned that she would suffer, and our vet told us that as long as she ate, drank and
was glad to see us, she wouldn't be suffering. She had always been queen, but now, she
REALLY received royal treatment!
The sores in her mammary area got worse, and developed an extremely unpleasant smell. And,
naturally wherever she lay, left a stain that didn’t wash out. We didn’t want
the furniture ruined, but were at a loss as to what to do to help her and us. Finally, we
came upon the idea of wrapping an overnight deodorant maxi pad around her middle, and
securing it with a ribbon. We’d change her dressing every evening and let her clean
herself. Never once during these ordeals did she seem really and truly sick. She ate good,
but was losing weight. She drank her water, but was still rather dehydrated. Still the vet
said she was doing fine.
On the back patio was her favorite chair. She would love to jump in the chair and sun
herself in the fall sunshine. Eventually, she became so weak that we’d have to lift
her up into the chair. But, she sunned herself every day the sun was out.
One morning, I woke up to her panting. I woke up the girls and told them that maybe they
better say good-bye to Kiz. I was afraid that she wouldn’t be there when they got
home from school. While they were getting ready for school, I made her a little bed in one
of the clothesbaskets. She had a little "orthopedic" thermal bed we’d
gotten for her old bones, so I put that in the basket, and gently carried her tot he bed
I’d made for her. I went to the kitchen and brought in a very shallow bowl of water
for her. Instinct told me she couldn’t eat. She couldn’t move to the water, so I
put it by her little head, and she lifted her head and drank a bit. I got a soft
"thank you meow" from her –and she put her little paws over my first
finger, and actually hugged me like she did when she was younger. My heart broke at that
point. I knew my sweet little girl was leaving us. The girls told her good-bye on final
time and left for school. After they left, she and I lay and the floor and visited. The
memories we shared that day…..and the tears I shed. I finally told her it was okay to
leave us. She didn’t have to be strong any longer. She’d taken care of us for so
many years, and now it was time for her to take care of herself. After that, she walked to
the back door and lay down on the rug. After resting, she went to the door and started
meowing. I got the camera and took one final picture of her. I just had to have one. She
tried to make it down the stop, but couldn’t do it. I picker her up and carried her
to her favorite chair. The sun was out, and she looked at me with so much love in her eyes
–but yet with such sadness. Her little bladder let go, and she looked at me with
another look –one of embarrassment. I told her it was okay, and got a towel and
cleaned her and her chair up. Then, I went and got a blanket out of the garage, and
covered the chair and made a bit of a "nest" for her.
Unfortunately, I had errands to run that were necessary. I didn’t want to leave her
alone –but yet, she’d always been a very private creature (if you walked in
while she was using the litter box, she’d stop, run out, and finish when you’d
left the room!). I phoned our neighbor, who loved Kizzie nearly as much as we did, and
asked her if she’d sit with Kizzie while I was gone. When I told her why, she agreed
immediately. But, her dad needed her to go with him for a short time, and she had to leave
Kizzie alone too. Being the private individual she was, that was the time she left us
–with absolutely no one around.
People have said they knew the minute something awful has happened to a loved one
–and I have to say I knew the minute Kizzie died. At 12:30, I got violently sick to
my stomach. At 12:45, sadness enveloped me and I just wanted to sit down on the spot and
cry. I knew she was gone. When I got home, Chrissy confirmed the approximate time of her
death. She was gone for about 30 minutes with her dad, and that was when Kizzie left us.
She covered her up, and put her in a temporary casket for us in our garage.
Daniel had an overnight run for work, and I called him (even though I knew he’d be
asleep –he drives semi and works nights). He took the news better than I thought. He
told me when he got home the next day, that after hanging up the phone, he went into the
bathroom for a drink of water. But he could hear a cat meowing out in the other room, and
the cat sounded just like Kissei! He went out and looked around, thinking perhaps a cat
somehow had gotten into the motel room. There was no cat. He looked outside the parking
lot, but no cat. We fully believe that Kissei found him and stopped to tell him good-bye.
Daniel had built a coffin for her all ready, and I had it lined with some beautiful, warm
fabric for her, and painted her coffin lid. We all said good-bye one last time, and buried
her under the window of my crafting room. She must like it there, because the grass in the
spot of where we buried her is very green, soft and grows faster than any other spot in
the yard. While I’m in my room crafting, she and I have some pretty nice visits.
 But
our story doesn’t end there. She’s still taking care of us. We’ve had a
couple of "near disasters" and Kizzie has appeared the night before to either
Dawn or myself. The last time was last winter when we had a very nasty ice storm. Kizzie
appeared in Dawn’s south bedroom window. The next morning, early, a limb from our
neighbor’s tree, burdened with ice, crashed into our house. Had it fallen
approximately three feet back, it would have gone through the SOUTH BEDROOM WINDOW of
Dawn’s room, and landed on her bed, with her still sleeping in it! Our little kitty
still looks out for Dawn!
Kizzie may have left our lives on October 9, 1997, but she still shares our lives and
continues to take good care of us! No other animal will EVER take her place in my heart! |
|
