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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRemembering Betty - The cat with kaleidoscope eyes...
She's been gone a week-and-a-half, and I'm still choked up, dammit.
The last of our L.A.-origin critters left us a week ago Sunday evening. We got the call from the emergency animal hospital that's open 24/7 even on weekends, after the other vets close for the day. They wanted us to take her there where she could get intensive care and some important tests scheduled for Monday morning. She made it to mid-evening, after they'd given her some pain medication and bedded her down for the night. Then about 8:15pm, they called to say she had passed. Pain meds must have helped her let go, and she let go all the way. It was inevitable anyway - she was almost 14, had outlived her brother Barney by a couple of years, and was very ill by then.
I've had some time to recover, especially since my husband thought we ought to stop by the local Petco this past Monday. "Need anything at Petco? Cat litter? New kittens?" Me: "Ohhhhhh???" He was only half-joking. Went in there, yep, they had kittens available for adoption. We fell in love with another little pair of litter mates and they came home with us. Like Barney and Betty had done, 14 years ago, while we were still living in L.A. Julian and Kira (named after some of our favorite "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" characters) are now running the joint, little as they are, and it's only been three days. Litter mates, though! BEST way to do it. They have each other and keep each other company, so the adjustment's WAY easier. Hence Julian and Kira. He's an orange tabby, and she's a grey-and-white tabby.
But no one could replace Betty. She always reminded me of that Beatles lyric - "the girl with kaleidoscope eyes" - because she had 'em. One blue eye and one green eye. The right eye was blue and the left eye was green. She and Barney were short-hairs, both "harleys" - kinda like harlequin cats - mainly white but with patches of black, brown, grey tabby, and whatever else was under there. White is a masking color in cat fur patterns, evidently. Barney had regular green cat eyes, lots of white fur, a jaunty black "cap" of black tilted just so on his head, a black tail with a kink at the end, and all color blotches against the white fur were black. Betty was different. Black AND grey tabby blotches in the white fur. And a few random beigey-grey spots. And she had pink and grey toes. And she trilled. She'd make these little chirping, trilling noises for what I figured might be "what?" "huh?" and the ever-popular "is this for me?" She'd sometimes announce herself that way, or greet you that way in the morning. "Prrrrrrrrrrup?"
She outlived her brother, who got sick and left us well before the pandemic took hold. But Betty prevailed. Fat 'n' sassy, happy to sleep on the corner of our bed - sometimes all day!
All our "fur babies" from Los Angeles are now gone. And four big paw-print-shaped holes are left in my heart - but especially from Betty. I LOVED those eyes. And when the light would catch them at night, and reflect inside and play on the retinas, we'd joke that she looked like an airplane - a red eye and a green eye, her own distinct kind of "port and starboard". And then the Rolling Stones would start singing that lyric in the back of my mind - "she comes in co-o-lors, oooh-la-la,ooh la-la-la-la la!" She WAS indeed a rainbow.
We packed all four of our four-leggeds in the compact car - put the back seat down and she and Barney rode up to Oregon in a large wire pet crate. dB was in a cat carrier. Goldie the dog curled up on a large chair pillow. I'd take her out at every stop so she could - um - stretch her legs. The cats were content to zone out. I kept checking. It took 16 hours and not a peep out of any of 'em. They adapted to their new home up here quite nicely. We were all together, the same unit. So I guess that made it easier.
September was a VERY crazy month. Uncharacteristically heavy workload! My indivisible group hosted two sizable rallies in three weeks at our "Democratic" Congressman's local office, and I did all the press and protocol - before, during, and after. That's in addition to all the work entailed in the weekly Call to Action email that we put together every weekend. And Betty started failing. She shifted into a noticeably lower gear several months ago and I couldn't help but wonder if this was the year she might leave. Betty's the last of the L.A. four-footers. From now on, feline or canine, they're all native Oregonians. But Betty left her mark. She loved me and would stretch out and arch her back - ON my laptop. Across the lower rows of keys while I was trying to write. As a kitten, she slept under my chin when I'd flat on my back. She still wanted to be there after she weighed 19 pounds. So I kept her close.
Still do.
Always will.
calimary
(81,466 posts)Woodswalker
(549 posts)Sorry for your loss. Been there a few times. Glad you rescued another couple of fur balls.
calimary
(81,466 posts)Litter mates! The only way to fly, from now on.
Among the best pet advice Ive run across! Double your pleasure, double your fun
and all that.
brer cat
(24,605 posts)Our furbabies make our lives so much more enjoyable, but the terrible ache in our hearts at their passing can be overwhelming.
I'm so sorry for your losses, calimary.
calimary
(81,466 posts)The kittens do ease the pain. But itll probably always be there, at least a little bit.
Ill always think of her whenever I hear those two songs.
virgdem
(2,126 posts)You were one in a million.💔💔💔💔💔🌈🌈
calimary
(81,466 posts)Brings some comfort.
alwaysinasnit
(5,072 posts)your life.
calimary
(81,466 posts)They all leave a mark, dont they
alwaysinasnit
(5,072 posts)Raine
(30,540 posts)it's heartbreaking when we lose a furbaby, they leave an empty place in our homes and in our hearts. I'm still missing every single one of those that I've loved since they've gone away.
calimary
(81,466 posts)I still look at the end of the bed, half-expecting shell come lumbering on up this set of foam steps that make it possible for a pet to climb up onto the bed. She used it every day. At a certain point a couple of years ago it became harder for her to hop up onto the bed. We got it from a friend who wasnt using it anymore. Were leaving it in place. Itll still serve - maybe for the kittens when theyre allowed to come into the bedroom. A few days from now, perhaps.
Raine
(30,540 posts)I came across that quote and thought it's a nice thing to keep in mind that they'll always be there in our hearts. ♥️
calimary
(81,466 posts)Always love you, Betty-baby.
Hekate
(90,793 posts)Thank you for sharing in a sense she will always be with you.
calimary
(81,466 posts)She had quite the repertoire. Spoke up often. Every time youd pet her. Her brother never did that. He had his own little quirks.
They all have personalities, dont they.
pazzyanne
(6,556 posts)You were obviously much loved while here!
calimary
(81,466 posts)Thanks, pazzyanne.
littlemissmartypants
(22,803 posts)A very poignant tribute.
calimary
(81,466 posts)And dammit, it happens every time one of them leaves.
And my/our dogs too. They really leave a mark.
3catwoman3
(24,041 posts)
welcomed a new cat or kitten into the fold very soon after bidding farewell to one that has left us. I always refer to them as successors, never as replacements.
Betty sounds as if she was just beautiful, both in appearance as well as in purr-sonality.
calimary
(81,466 posts)The new arrivals ARE successors. Different but equal. Each one with distinctions and uniquities (if thats a word).
And now were back up to three cats. Frankly, the other day, I would have taken the three other kittens that were there, too. Lotta work, and its all on me. But it makes me happy.
3catwoman3
(24,041 posts)like enough. If I werent married, Id probably have 6-8.
DarthDem
(5,256 posts)She sounds like an amazing companion and cat. I'm so sorry for your loss. What a beautifully written tribute to her.
calimary
(81,466 posts)I wish they lived longer.
pansypoo53219
(20,995 posts)vocalizan. she was a small earred lynx coat 'maine coon'. fiesty to the end. under 5 lbs + took me + 2 vet techs to draw blood from her neck. she said NO! from the start. paws off limit til elderly. and hold her upside down? she was a houdini.
calimary
(81,466 posts)Full of personality and uniquity. Captured my heart and wont let me have it back. Happens every time with every one of em.
I just realized IM the one on the leash.
pansypoo53219
(20,995 posts)poor things still hiding at brother's house.
calimary
(81,466 posts)Im glad you want them both. They will be, too.
pansypoo53219
(20,995 posts)years. then he got 2 kittens for his 2 adopted kids + he said he'd never do 1 cat again.
3catwoman3
(24,041 posts)or critters in to our lives, knowing that we will outlive them, but we do it anyway, because life is so much better with them in it.
calimary
(81,466 posts) but we do it anyway.
spanone
(135,873 posts)calimary
(81,466 posts)spanone
(135,873 posts)sinkingfeeling
(51,473 posts)calimary
(81,466 posts)Still missing her - HARD. Even while filled with a very healing double delight. Sometimes I cant help feeling that litter mates could fix some of the worlds biggest problems.
They sure can bring out the loving-and-gentle in you.
BeckyDem
(8,361 posts)So very sorry for your loss, calimary.
calimary
(81,466 posts)And it just never gets easier.
I can only hope that if I ever deserve to go to the Rainbow Bridge, Ill be able to find them all.
That means YOU, too, Mousetrap.
That ESPECIALLY means you. ❤️
Vinca
(50,303 posts)hole in your heart when they go. I still tear up over a dear, sweet boy who died on Thanksgiving day in 2009. He was really my best friend. This year we lost our oldest cat ever. Rosie lived to be 21. Now we're down to 1 again. Nice you got a couple of new babies to spoil. They'll be as happy to own you as Betty was.
calimary
(81,466 posts)She must have had a very safe. pleasant, and happy life to be able to stick around that long. Our dB made it to about 19. Thats the longest-lived cat weve had.
UpInArms
(51,284 posts)Am so glad that Betty was yours and You were hers
and so sorry for your loss
calimary
(81,466 posts)BIG well-accessorized walk-in cat cage at that particular place. Lots of busy little kittens all over, at all levels. But there were these two who huddled together quietly in the middle of the floor in the midst of all this activity. The attendant picked one up, having noticed that we were both noticing those two. Indicated we could take this one. But I couldnt stand the idea of separating them, just taking one and leaving the other behind. You could clearly see they were bonded to each other. Just didnt have the heart to separate them forever. I indicated um - that one, too? And thus started the beginning of a beautiful friendship between Barney & Betty, and us.
And that started our utter devotion to the whole idea of litter mates. Looks like it still holds true to this very day.