Saying Goodbye - or - meeeeeooooooooow

Our orange kitty, Ezra, who I affectionately call, "Old Man" or "Grandpa", has been with us for over 16 years. He noticed that his buddy was not here anymore. He has settled down now, but was circling each room over and over and meowing a lot as he walked. He slept through the whole thing - Nika's passing - in the same room. The dogs walked by and saw what was going on - they even came up to her and sniffed. Did they get it? Should we have made sure Ezra came over to see Nika? I don't know what animals know, but I do think Ezra was looking for her. After our beloved Scottie, Mac, died in 2000, Ezra came up to me as I cried and stood on his hind legs. He put one paw on my knee and "waved" the other paw at me and when I looked at him he let out a long, low wail that I have never heard from him before or since. I could not believe it then or now. I wish it was on video so I could see it again. It was so surreal!

Anyway, I almost don't know what to do with myself without Nika tripping me 10 times a day. She loved to wait for just the right moment and then ZIP! TRIP! And the best part is that she would yell at you, like you did something wrong, since you inevitably kicked her in the tripping process. She also followed me around from room to room. She loved Lee the best and would straddle the arm rest of his chair in the evenings, purring and purring.

We always joked that Nika would never die. She was just one of those feisty old girls that you thought would never give in. She used up every one of her nine lives. One was with ant poison. One was with a car. She broke her hip and wasn't quite the same sweet kitty after that. She survived the introduction of five dogs...or should I say they survived...and the many children who visited our house asking where the "mean kitty" was (she just didn't have a very nice tone of voice...oh, and she scratched and hissed if you pet her by her hip).

In this suitcase shot, if you see it up-close, you can see that she is looking at me like, "What? I'm sleeping. Come back later".


You know how when a person passes no one says anything bad about them and they become a saint? Well, I couldn't tell you the real story of Nika on the day of her passing, but when I told my mom, "Well, she is in 'Kitty Heaven'," she said, "Are you SURE?"