As many of you know, one of my cats - my dearest Tootsie - died several week ago. I miss her so much - I still wake in the middle of the night and have that momentary feeling where you have forgotten such a sad event....and you have to that heart pain of remembering once again. I sleep on my side and she often slept on my hip - I miss that too! Mostly I miss her sweet and loving nature. What a cat!
I have always enjoyed the company of more than one pet.....in part for me - and I also like the thought of Holly having a pal when I am away. At one point several years ago, I had 2 cats and 2 dogs - I have down sized from that and now limit myself to 2!
Since I quit smoking 8 years ago, I have lost 5 pets. Four of them were relatively older pets, close in age, when I quit smoking. The idea of losing one of them was my "what if" question when thinking about quitting smoking and then being faced with a terrible challenge. I knew that for me, the death of a dear pet would bring a deep pain and I wanted to consider ahead of time how I would handle that as a non-smoker. Each time it has happened in the years since - smoking has never occurred to me. It is so important to realize that smoking NEVER GAVE US ANYTHING! I convinced myself of that and it made such a difference when faced with the challenges life can throw at us.
I have recently adopted Monet from a local rescue. (Please see pictures, a few of Monet and one of her with her kittens - they called them "Monet's Minis"!) She is lovely! She is considered a "dilute tortie" due to the muted colors. (It is a genetic mutation.) The rescue folks felt that her dilute colors reminded them of a muted painting by Monet - thus her name! I liked it, so I am keeping it. She was rescued in March from a shelter - but then they discovered she was pregnant. She had her 5 kittens while in a foster home and then was ready for adoption after the kittens were weaned.
It is a work in progress, as far as Holly goes. I am taking it slow....we are up to supervised visits. There is a bit of hissing - but so far, things seems to be going well. Monet and I know that Holly will soon love her new friend! (Monet has a lovely temperament and is ignoring Holly when she is rude!)
So - I had to share! Meet Monet......
