Monday, October 4, 2010

A Peanutty Farewell

Peanutty
A sad event this past week, and it's taken me a few days to write about it. My wonderful companion Peanut died of kidney failure. She was twelve years old. A sweeter, gentler fuzzball you couldn't find anywhere.
Snickers
We normally have two cats, and all through the spring and summer I kept getting the urge to get a third cat. Yes, no, yes, no. Finally I gave in a couple of months ago and Snickers joined our family. She is a great cat whose owners allowed her to get pregnant at six months. She was turned in as an underfed "stray" when she had her kittens. Bad owners, bad! We took her home the day after her kittens were weaned, as a scrawny thing, still a kitten herself, with about a quarter of her weight being the milk she carried. She's exuberant and playful now, reclaiming her kitten hood and tussling with our next-older cat, Marble, who is about three times her size. It's been amazing to see the spirit come back into her tired little body.  

What's odd about this picture of happiness with Marble and Snickers is that I essentially picked out Peanut's replacement right before she fell seriously ill. I don't know whether this makes me love and appreciate the new cat more, since she was a purring pillow for my tears. What I do know is that I brought her into the house for a reason--to help patch the hole in my heart before it was even there.

12 comments:

  1. I am so sorry Dakota. :( That is so sad. We love u.

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  2. I'm sorry about your loss Dakota. It's just as hard to lose a pet as it is a person.

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  3. I'm sorry, Dakota. that's so tough. Hang in there.

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  4. Thanks for understanding, everyone.

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  5. So sorry Dakota. I just had the same thing occur last year with our 14 year old cat. Sending my love.

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  6. I'm so sorry for your loss. My little man is two and I can't imagine losing him. My heart goes out to you and the other kitties! <3

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  7. Hugs for your loss. :( I now it's hard when we lose family like that.

    Congrats on your new family member, tho. :)

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  8. Melissa, I appreciate the thought about the new family member. Snickers is a delight.

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  9. So sorry for your loss Dakota, our pets become an important part of our lives, our fur babies. It hurts to lose one.

    ((hugs))

    Dottie

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  10. I'm sorry for your loss. My dog died Sept 27th of this year. She was 17. Even with her age and expecting her to pass soon, it was very tough.

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