Albert Got His Angel Wings (2004 - 2020)

 

On Tuesday, 12/15 we let our sweet deaf cat Albert go to the Rainbow Bridge. His kidneys had failed.  I spoke with the animal communicator on Friday and she said that Al was very tired, physically and emotionally and was ready to cross over.  He wanted to make sure we were ready to let him go. We pampered him with love and attention all weekend.

Al had been diagnosed with hyperthyroid in 2018.  As with most older cats, his kidneys began to show renal disease shortly after.  We began giving him sub c fluids  in 2019.  He was getting them daily in the end.  Unfortunately he was not able to take the medication for hyperthyroid so I was giving him the herbal blend Sweetpea got as well.

Albert was a very special cat.  He was born deaf - as are most blue eyed white cats and learned to respond to our hand signals.  He also taught us a few things too.  He was very smart, personable, funny and a bit dominating with the other cats.

I found him as a kitten in the fall of 2004 sitting by the side of a busy country road just watching the cars go by. I thought he was a paper bag at first.  Afraid I would spook him into the traffic I got my friend Peel to meet me there and we both corralled him.  He was not at all upset and let me pick him up and get him to safety.  He was banged up and scratched so I assumed he was either  tossed from a car or fell from the rocky hill behind him.

I knew he was deaf once I saw his blue eyes.  Since I am hearing impaired, I felt a strong connection with him and wanted to keep him. We named him Albert Einstein after the scientist.- his fur formed a white wild halo around his head like the his namesake. His nicknames were Ally, Ally Oop and Ally Boo. Al adapted to life with us easily and got along with all the other cats indoors.  He loved to find odd sleeping places - in the pots and pans in the kitchen, on top of the coat stand, in a plant pot.  We never knew where we would find him.

 

 

As he grew in size, he still sought out his crazy napping spots and could not figure out why he did not  fit in them anymore!  Even as a senior he still slept in the oddest places like on a pile of mail, in the middle of the floor.

Growing bigger.

Al this year

He loved his laser light toy and his catnip mouse but would get a bit over stimulated and more aggressive from these toys and we would have to calm him down after. He would continue to search for the red dot long after it was put away. Shadows and branches moving outside would get him all riled up as well..  

When we moved to the current house we split the cats into two groups - the older ones inside with us and the younger ones in the cat shelter Don made from a carport/workshop.  Al went into the latter.  By now he was a big cat and becoming a bully, dominating many of the other cats who were his age. Don made a room within a room for him by caging in once section of the screened porch of cat house and then adding an upper level that went into the interior heated room.  That gave both Al and the other cats time to be alone.  We let Al out with us there to supervise him, using his room as his safe place mostly. We still ended up having to move cats out of the cat house to our house when Al persisted in stalking them.  We tried all the drugs, herbs and homeopathy but nothing worked. I found out recently that many deaf cats have a high prey drive.  Perhaps that is what it was.

Al and Don

Talking to an animal communicator helped us get a better idea about Al. He formed a close bond with Don and felt calm and supported by him. Don was his rock. It seems logical when the communicator explained that Al was rejected by his cat mom and siblings and and struggled alone, feeling excluded.  His dominance was fear based so he struck out when he was afraid. When the cats accidentally bumped Al he reacted defensively by attacking. Obviously this caused many cat fights between Al and the others.

 

Al retained his goofy silly side as he got older, using the cat tree as his jungle gym, hanging off upside down.  He loved running up the ramps to the higher shelves in the cat house and surveying his kingdom from on high. Another animal communicator told us Al felt responsible for all the cats in the outside shelter.  He would defend the others from other critters or neighbor dogs that happened to look in  by flying to the door and hissing, spitting and growling for all he was worth.  The dogs ran in fright. I don't blame them.  Al was terrifying.

We brought Albert inside with us after Norm passed in February this year so that we could care for him better.  Al proceeded to attack each one of the cats in the house - I would assume to establish his authority and then after a few weeks, calmed down and just ignored them.  Our regular communicator Rose said that Al now felt  he could retire being inside with us. We had it all under control.  He was in his own senior home and could just enjoy life without all the responsibilities.  After the rough beginning, Al left the other cats alone and they in turn didn't bother him.

Al delighted in living inside with us.  He found the toy basket and had a ball delving into it looking for new toys.  See the video here. 

Albert treasured the one on one time he had with Don.  He would drape his body over Don's lap while we watched TV, happy as could be.

Spending time on the back porch on warm sunny days was a favorite pastime for Ally. He loved sitting on the packing paper from the Chewy boxes too.

We catered to Al and fed him on a raised plate, giving him whatever he would eat.  When he wanted more or was done he would slap the plate off the platform on to the floor.  We could hear the plate clatter and would laugh.  His highness wanted something!

Al's last Christmas with us.

 

His passing was gentle and easy.  An ice storm was predicted so even tho our vet was not available we took him to a local vet.  They fit us in at the end of the day so we were the only ones there.  All of us were masked. We had our hands on him during the injections with me surrounding him in Reiki light as he left us.

Our communicator Rose checked in with Albert as he passed.  Al thanked us for loving him in spite of his being a "problem child."  He said bossing the others made him feel in control.  He appreciated us understanding that that was how he was. Al felt that the had a good life with us and was grateful for the care and affection we gave him.  Snowball met him as he crossed into Spirit to escort him to Summerland. 

 Al is buried on our land next to Norm and Snowball with a catnip mouse, as blue as his gorgeous eyes. We will get him a grave stone at a later date. Don and I will never forget this challenging, intelligent, charming, beautiful boy. I made a bouquet of evergreens and one yellow flower surprisingly still blooming in our garden.  Al was our sunshine for sure. Until we meet again dear boy. We love you.

A Bridge Called Love

It takes us back to brighter years,
to happier sunlit days
and to precious moments
that will be with us always.
And these fond recollections
are treasured in the heart
to bring us always close to those
from whom we had to part.

There is a bridge of memories
from earth to Heaven above...
It keeps our dear ones near us

It's the bridge that we call love.

Author Unknown

Until We Meet Again Snowball (2005 - 2020)

We said goodbye to beloved Snowball on Thurs. April 16.  A couple of weeks before we notice his breathing was hard when he got excited or was very active.  Suspecting heart issues, we got an appointment with our mobile vet as soon as possible.  Test showed his chest and abdomen filled with fluid and a mass in his prostate.  More tests showed it was not his heart but was cancer. We kept him comfortable with diuretics for the remaining days and spent as much time with him as we could.

Snowball was a very important part of our lives and of all the white cats we took in.  Let me share with you his story from the beginning.

Kitten Snowball

In January of 2006, neighbors alerted us to a couple of white kitties, a mom and kitten, roaming the area searching for food.  It was Snowball and his mom Lily, barely out of her own kitten hood..  I heard that there were three other kittens but we never knew what happened to them. We put food out on our back deck and Lily and Snowball showed up and took up residence there.  Lily was often off on her own pursuits and left two - three month old Snowball on his own.  We set up a shelter of sorts on the deck in a dog kennel cage with food and water. We gave Snowball  toys to play with, towels to lay on and lots of attention through our porch window. He would sit on our Tiki  carving and chatter to us throughout the day.  If we stepped outside he was gone in a flash.  Feral to the core still.  We tried many times to trap Lily and Snowball but they eluded us.

Talking through the window

Lily had a second litter in the spring of 2006 giving birth to Norm, Sam, Woody and Georgie.  Snowball still stayed with the group even as a teen boy cat. He went off on his own but never for very long.  Lily still avoided the trap I set out. 

With his nip frog

Sometime before the next litter in the fall of 2006, I trapped Georgie and brought her indoors.  A short time later I was able to catch Snowball, Norm, Sam and Woody as they fed in the kennel cage on the deck. A neighbor let us use her heated storage shed with an attached screen outdoor area to house the boys.  Our house was full of older cats at this point in time.

Under the lilac tree

Snowball took all this in stride and claimed his head cat position over his brother cats. We finally caught Lily and her  last litter of Smidge, Only, Two Spot and Tabitha.  We moved to our current place in 2008, taking 21 cats with us: ten of them were in a separate cat shelter with a large screen porch.  This included Snowball, Norm, Sam, Woody, Al, Smidge, Two Spot, Sam, Only and Georgie.

Always the confident gentlemanly cat, Snowball ruled the group with a firm paw but with calmness and kindness.  He and Don formed a close bond.  Don had the same calm personality as Snowball and his presence seemed to energize Snowball.  Over the years, Snowball had many serious health issues - UTIs, and a urinary blockage, chronic constipation which evolved into mega colon but his even keeled personality never faltered.

 Snowball was a portly mancat with a round face and jowls.  His eyes were large almond shaped and an incredible green. He was such a handsome boy.

Snowball loved boxes and in spite of his heft would squeeze into any box left out for the cats.  He also loved to climb the ramps and shelves Don later added to the cat house, exploring the views from up high.  His weight gave him issues with his hips as the years went on but he was stubborn.  He avoided our attempts of put steps to help him get up and down, preferring to use his usual route. He did things his way no matter what.

On the shelf over the porch door

Norm became his best buddy from the get go.  They were pretty much inseparable.  If Snowball was there, Norm was right beside him even if he had to squash himself into the same space. They fought at times and this was the only time I saw Snowball be anything other than serene with the other cats.  Norm would push him so far and he would retaliate.  The bickering never lasted long and they would be napping together again a short time later.

Snowball chastising Norm

Norm and Snowball

Two best buds

Snowball was never a lap cat - he was too dignified for that but he would sit next to you on the loveseat.  He loved to be petted but got a bit too excited and would swat if you were not careful. He allowed us to love on him on his terms.

Snowball loved to eat and enjoyed treats.  We got him to slim down a bit after the urinary blockage by just feeding wet food.  His favorite toy was the Bizzy Kitty - the round plastic donut shaped toy with a ball inside.  

Always handling himself with dignity, Snowball would not let me dress him in costumes but would allow me to put one item of clothing, usually a hat on him for a brief time to take a photo.  I could pose him with props as well  if I was quick about it.

Sam, Snowball in center and Only

As the numbers in our cat shelter went down with loss and illness, Snowball could be found napping on the love seat with all the white cats in a row - Only, Norm,  Sam and Smidge. Snowball loved sitting in the sun and would lay on the floor next to the window on the screen porch or on the hammick.

With Sam on right

When Norm became ill in 2018 and we moved him into the house, Sam took his place next to Snowball. 

Snowball spent his last days lounging in all his favorite places with Sam right next to him. He ate well and seemed to enjoy our attention. I spoke with our animal communicator during his last week and she said he felt it was a fulfilling job to be the "ambassador" as she put it to the other cats for all these years.  They looked to Snowball for comfort, calmness and guidance in all things cat. He was their benevolent leader. Snowball helped them feel connected to each other and to us. He wanted to pass at home on his own as he did with everything but with his breathing getting worse we did not want to put him through that.  He trusted me to make that decision for him and I did.  

We had the mobile vet come to our house but with the pandemic going on we had to be satisfied with doing the procedure in the van. Don  brought Snowball out and went in the van with him.  It was a quiet peaceful passing and Snowball slipped away without any distress. According to our communicator Snowball was met by Lily his mom and Norm of course. There was a sense of deep peace about him. Snowball requested that we call the cat room in our new house the Snowball Room so he can still watch over the cats.

His last week

We let the other cats sit with his body for a bit before we wrapped Snowball with his favorite mouse toy in a soft fleece blanket and buried him next to Norm in our graveyard. A bouquet of spring flowers graces his burial spot.  Snowball left this Earthly plane two months and three days after Norm.  I know they are all together again - Lily, Norm, Georgie, Only, and hopefully the other three kittens from his litter if they have passed on.

We will miss you Snowball.  You were our rock, our calm in the storm - for us and for the other cats.  No one can replace you. Until we meet again....

Goodbye Sweet Norm (2006-2020)

We let our formerly feral Norm go to the Rainbow Bridge Thursday afternoon.  He had been winding down, losing weight and eating less over the past few months.  In April 2018 he was diagnosed with either IBD or lymphoma. He had swollen lymph nodes and a thickened intestine. After two vet consults, I decide against exploratory surgery to find out what is wrong.Often they don't find out anything and Norm would have to heal from surgery.

We got him eating again and moved him into our home from the cat house.  He thrived for a good year and a half but over time he was slowing down.  I had been treating him with natural remedies for cancer and IBD to cover all bases. Last year he had a bout of not eating in July but we got him going once again.  This time even with appetite stimulants, slippery elm and other things, he was not responding.  He had almost two years of quality life after his diagnosis.

Snowball giving Norm h*ll.

Snowball and Norm snuggling

Snowball after he came home form the vet hospital.  Norm was so happy.

What can I say about this great personable cat.  Living in the cat house he was a shy, reserved cat. Except for Snowball for some reason. They were not from the same litter (Snowball was the only survivor of Lily's first litter)  but he loved Snowball and was with him every second, much to Snowball's chagrin.  They fussed and fought but Snowball still let Norm be his buddy. I have a theory - that Norm secretly wanted to be head cat but Snowball was, so Norm accepted being was second in command.  

Eating with Snowball, and Sam

When Norm moved into the house without Snowball, he became the head cat he wanted to be - without even trying.  All the cats deferred to him or gave him a wide berth. He was never aggressive or pushy. He was not lonely as Woody was his litter mate and they often along with Tabitha napped together.  Norm's name came from the Cheers show - Norm, Sam and Woody were all in Lily's second  litter along with Georgie.  We had many nicknames for Norm - Normy, Norm Norm, and Norman as they called him at the vet.

Food face

If you can't view this - go here

Norm always seemed to get food on his face when he ate and in later months he was not grooming as well so it was obvious. He would come into the kitchen and ask for his food.  Such a personality!

My nurse

Inside the house with us, Norm became an outgoing love bug who loved cuddles with us or the other cats. He disappeared when anyone came to visit..  He was still quiet but had a way of letting you know what the wanted. He snuggled with me on the bed when I was reading or not well.

The past few months he had taken to spending all his time with Woody and Tabitha - napping in a pile, coming on the bed to wake me up in the morning or sitting on the couch with Don.  I called them the three mouseketeers.  Norm loved being on the porch or looking out the window.

A few months back

Chester the Maine Coon mix we adopted in July 2019 became Norm nemesis.  Chester was not aggressive but I think was afraid of Norm even tho Norm was smaller.  When they met up in the hall, it became a silly game of who would let the other by first.  Norm never really did anything except maybe stare intensely at Chester but Chester would get all worked up and dash by Norm.  Often even swatting Norm but Norm just ignored him.

Norm watching Chester

Norm and Chester in the hall

A rare time when both were on the porch but the door to the house was open in case.

I thought I would let Norm go last week but he rallied over the weekend with appetite stimulants.  By Wednesday I could see he was floundering, and getting weaker.  He was spending all his time sleeping in out of the way places cozy places and not coming out to eat.  On his final day, he slept on the bed with Woody.  Don and I spent time with him and told him how much we loved him. 

Norm Thursday with Woody  - you can see how much weight he lost.

We usually have the vet come to the house but he was booked until Monday.  We did not think Norm would make it until then so we drove him to our other vet.  Norm sat on my lap and enjoyed the sun on him and curiously watching people and things go by.  Don said he was surveying his options as to what he would return to life as. He dosed a bit before we arrived at the vet.

Norm's grave

 His passing was very peaceful in a room with a lovely wooded view. I was leaning over him sending Reiki and love with his head cradled in my hand.  I think he was  gone as soon as they administered the sedative.  He is buried with some catnip and treats (his favorites) in our cat cemetery next to Only who passed a year ago next week.  We will miss this quiet mancat so much.  I know his momcat Lily and siblings Georgie and Only were there to welcome him to the other side. This is the hardest thing about rescue - to have to say goodbye to so many wonderful animals.

Lily with Only, Norm and Georgie