Remembering Krista

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daftcat75

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Nice plantings! "Dad! Dad! Why aren't there any birds or squirrels for me to watch right now?"
I’ll fill out the comment card at checkout. We were still at the hotel for one more night. My Instagram caption was better: Her second favorite hotel activity after fridge climbing was window perching. I still have more pictures from this stay to share. Later.
 
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daftcat75

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December 25, 2018 (two years ago)

She is having words with me with her eyes over leaving her the night before for the hotel.
F91EF48B-95DB-48DD-B959-330E8B39D17F.jpeg DBB627B2-15A3-4C56-BA86-009A8219710C.jpeg
But has apparently forgiven me the next night 😻
F4AFB84C-1EAB-4207-A458-7A66E18D9328.jpeg
 

tarasgirl06

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tarasgirl06

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tarasgirl06

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I must dangle a correction. It is an arm. Her tail had no white and her back legs had too much white.

View attachment 364067
Of course, it is her arm. Thank you for correction. *Cats do NOT have four feet. They have arms and legs, hands and feet, fingers and toes. Just FYI for anyone who might need to know.*
ADORABLE "Thriller" Krista! :hearthrob: :kneading: :hearthrob: :heartshape:
 

Mr. Meow

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Sorry I've been out for a while, work has been overwhelming.
As a person who does pet cremation for a living, the best advice I can give is to do what FEELS right in your heart. No one knows Krista better than you. No one knows you better than you.
To give you an idea of what feels right for me (when it comes to my own fur babies), I will have all of them cremated. I will have an ink print done for each of them, and those prints will be tattooed on my body. This way, I'll always feel like they're putting their paws on me, reminding me they're watching over me. When my time comes, I will be cremated, and all of my pets throughout the years will have their cremated remains put with mine.
However, because of my job and extensive volunteer work, I have to take into consideration other animals that weren't really "mine", buy still touched my life in some way. I've been a witness 3 times now to a cat being hit by a car, and all 3 died in my arms. They were all strays, no microchip, not fixed and sadly, no one ever came looking for them. Because I FELT so strongly that they didn't pass away all alone, I had them cremated, but I put a small amount of their cremated remains (sorry, the word "ashes" means something different to us who work in this field) in a little heart charm, I gave them a name (usually the street name they were on, a nearby landmark or a physical feature about them) and I had their initials engraved on this heart charm, which stays with me in my car, so they're never alone ever again. I then scattered the rest in the nicest, safest place near where they passed. It may sound odd, off, or different to some people reading this, but to me it FEELS right.
And lastly, we often get in animals/strays that have no name, no owner, no home. They are completely unknown and most likely their entire life is completely forgotten. Over the years I've chosen a random group of dogs and cats that were "unknowns", taken their ink prints and had them tattooed on me so that no animal's memory will be forgotten. Again, odd to some, but to me it FEELS right.
IMG_20190904_134443.jpg
My point is this...Search your heart. Stop worrying about the what-ifs. No matter what you choose to do, if you do it out of the love and compassion you have for Krista, there is no wrong answer. Your actions during her life were done with love, and these decisions are no different. Write down a list of your choices, read them over, and ask yourself, "does this choice FEEL right?" I know you'll make the right decision, and I know you'll make it completely out of love.
 

tarasgirl06

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Sorry I've been out for a while, work has been overwhelming.
As a person who does pet cremation for a living, the best advice I can give is to do what FEELS right in your heart. No one knows Krista better than you. No one knows you better than you.
To give you an idea of what feels right for me (when it comes to my own fur babies), I will have all of them cremated. I will have an ink print done for each of them, and those prints will be tattooed on my body. This way, I'll always feel like they're putting their paws on me, reminding me they're watching over me. When my time comes, I will be cremated, and all of my pets throughout the years will have their cremated remains put with mine.
However, because of my job and extensive volunteer work, I have to take into consideration other animals that weren't really "mine", buy still touched my life in some way. I've been a witness 3 times now to a cat being hit by a car, and all 3 died in my arms. They were all strays, no microchip, not fixed and sadly, no one ever came looking for them. Because I FELT so strongly that they didn't pass away all alone, I had them cremated, but I put a small amount of their cremated remains (sorry, the word "ashes" means something different to us who work in this field) in a little heart charm, I gave them a name (usually the street name they were on, a nearby landmark or a physical feature about them) and I had their initials engraved on this heart charm, which stays with me in my car, so they're never alone ever again. I then scattered the rest in the nicest, safest place near where they passed. It may sound odd, off, or different to some people reading this, but to me it FEELS right.
And lastly, we often get in animals/strays that have no name, no owner, no home. They are completely unknown and most likely their entire life is completely forgotten. Over the years I've chosen a random group of dogs and cats that were "unknowns", taken their ink prints and had them tattooed on me so that no animal's memory will be forgotten. Again, odd to some, but to me it FEELS right.
View attachment 364325
My point is this...Search your heart. Stop worrying about the what-ifs. No matter what you choose to do, if you do it out of the love and compassion you have for Krista, there is no wrong answer. Your actions during her life were done with love, and these decisions are no different. Write down a list of your choices, read them over, and ask yourself, "does this choice FEEL right?" I know you'll make the right decision, and I know you'll make it completely out of love.
*Jumping in unasked* Just want to thank you for the essential and very difficult work you do, and for honoring some of those who may not have had homes and human caregivers, but whose value is every bit as great to those of us who love all cats as our own loved ones at home with us. These decisions are very personal and individual, as you state. I have had all of my ascended loved ones' remains remated when at all possible; when not, they have been laid to rest in many different places where I have lived. These include two whose identities were unknown, one of whom was by the roadside and the other of whom my ex and I were trying to help; he passed in a humane trap, probably of a heart attack. Another was the cat of neighbors who were in financial straits; we paid for his ascendance and laid him to rest where we lived.
Having always loved all cats, of all species and status, I know that their souls are eternal and that my many departed beloved ones watch over me until we are reunited. I have had to call upon the services of those in your profession on many occasions; and I am always deeply grateful for their caring, their professionalism, and their being. Thank you again.
 
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daftcat75

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Sorry I've been out for a while, work has been overwhelming.
As a person who does pet cremation for a living, the best advice I can give is to do what FEELS right in your heart. No one knows Krista better than you. No one knows you better than you.
To give you an idea of what feels right for me (when it comes to my own fur babies), I will have all of them cremated. I will have an ink print done for each of them, and those prints will be tattooed on my body. This way, I'll always feel like they're putting their paws on me, reminding me they're watching over me. When my time comes, I will be cremated, and all of my pets throughout the years will have their cremated remains put with mine.
However, because of my job and extensive volunteer work, I have to take into consideration other animals that weren't really "mine", buy still touched my life in some way. I've been a witness 3 times now to a cat being hit by a car, and all 3 died in my arms. They were all strays, no microchip, not fixed and sadly, no one ever came looking for them. Because I FELT so strongly that they didn't pass away all alone, I had them cremated, but I put a small amount of their cremated remains (sorry, the word "ashes" means something different to us who work in this field) in a little heart charm, I gave them a name (usually the street name they were on, a nearby landmark or a physical feature about them) and I had their initials engraved on this heart charm, which stays with me in my car, so they're never alone ever again. I then scattered the rest in the nicest, safest place near where they passed. It may sound odd, off, or different to some people reading this, but to me it FEELS right.
And lastly, we often get in animals/strays that have no name, no owner, no home. They are completely unknown and most likely their entire life is completely forgotten. Over the years I've chosen a random group of dogs and cats that were "unknowns", taken their ink prints and had them tattooed on me so that no animal's memory will be forgotten. Again, odd to some, but to me it FEELS right.
View attachment 364325
My point is this...Search your heart. Stop worrying about the what-ifs. No matter what you choose to do, if you do it out of the love and compassion you have for Krista, there is no wrong answer. Your actions during her life were done with love, and these decisions are no different. Write down a list of your choices, read them over, and ask yourself, "does this choice FEEL right?" I know you'll make the right decision, and I know you'll make it completely out of love.
You can’t know this because everyone grieves differently. But I wish I could go back and edit those early posts. I wish I could say, “please don’t offer condolences anymore. Please don’t talk about end-of-life decisions or survivor guilt.” All of these serve to yank me back to a moment in time that I would like to forget.

The question of her cremains is a settled matter now. They came back to me in a beautiful cedar box. It was sealed somehow. It frustrated my early uncertain attempts to wrestle with her new (non-)existence. Her new form. But then the urge to open the box and see its contents faded with time. Now I see it like a Schrodinger’s box. She is both in there and not in there. And only by opening it would I collapse the possibilities into a single reality. But as long as it remains closed, well, that’s the closest I come to faith. 🙏 I can imagine anything other than a bag of ashes in there. And that brings me much more comfort.

Through pictures, digital and printed, videos, audio clips tied to shortcuts on my phone, this thread, and her Instagram, I’ve found ways to remain connected to her and to remember the love and joy. 😻

I have this as a photo tile. I’m waiting to make a few more before I create a photo wall in my home. I’m listening for the right ones out of thousands of pictures for the next ones to have made.
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