I wanted a kitten or cat for as long as I can remember. I never got to have one when I was growing up, and then when I was out on my own I was doing so much traveling I thought it wouldn't be fair to a kitty.
Twelve years ago I decided I was going to get a kitty anyway. I found an ad in the employee classifieds at work, someone giving away kittens "free to a good home." I got to meet Shareena when she was 5 weeks old and fell in love instantly.
I picked Shareena up on my way home from the airport after my vacation, when she was 7-1/2 weeks old. she was so tiny, barely more than a handful of fluff. i don't know how she managed to get up there, but she decided my bed was her playground and sleeping area. She would curl up at the back of my head on top of my braid to sleep. I was afraid to turn over for fear I'd fling her off the bed. About the time I'd go to sleep she'd prop her chin on my ear and start purring like a jackhammer.
Six weeks later Shareena's sister, Miss Patchwillow, came to live with us. There was a day and a half of hissing and spitting. Then suddenly it was, "OK, we can be best friends. Let me show you all the places in the house we're not allowed to go."
Shareena grew into a sleek elegant lady, at least in looks.
She didn't always act the lady. She was definitely alpha cat and kept all the other kitties in line.
She loved kittens--one at a time. Whenever I was fostering a litter of kittens for the local shelter she would pick one off them to be "her" baby. She wasn't mean to the others, just ignored them.
When she was about 2 years old I started showing Shareena as a Household Pet in CFA. After a couple of years just going to an occasional show she surprised me by moving into the top 10 HHPs in the region. She was 7th Best HHP that year. The next two years she moved up to 4th and 3rd best. In 2016 she was on her way to being 2nd Best HHP when she developed severe allergies and I had to stop showing her. She still ended up in 7th place for that show year. She never did fully recover from the allergies, but she enjoyed being retired and staying home the last 3 years.
A few months ago she was losing weight because her mouth was so sore she couldn't eat. The dental specialist removed a huge mass from the side of the throat. It tested negative for cancer, but I wonder if that was a false negative. She was eating normally again but never gained back the weight. A couple of weeks ago she started losing weight again.
She was still alert and active almost to the end. When I put out the wet food at midnight on Saturday she came running and pushed her way in to be sure so got to the food first. A little later I found her lying on her side next the the dish with some food left in it. She ate a little yogurt from a spoon for me. Then I just held her and petted her and brushed her for about 2 hours. She was making biscuits and purring almost as loudly as she did as a kitten. I left her sleeping on her bed when I went to bed at 3:00 AM.
When I got up Sunday morning she had gone into the closet and curled up on a quilt, too weak to even lift her head. I wrapped her in a soft blanket and held her for an hour until she took her last breath and the light went out of her eyes.
My beautiful Shareena crossed the Rainbow Bridge April 7, 2019, on her 12th birthday.
Twelve years ago I decided I was going to get a kitty anyway. I found an ad in the employee classifieds at work, someone giving away kittens "free to a good home." I got to meet Shareena when she was 5 weeks old and fell in love instantly.
I picked Shareena up on my way home from the airport after my vacation, when she was 7-1/2 weeks old. she was so tiny, barely more than a handful of fluff. i don't know how she managed to get up there, but she decided my bed was her playground and sleeping area. She would curl up at the back of my head on top of my braid to sleep. I was afraid to turn over for fear I'd fling her off the bed. About the time I'd go to sleep she'd prop her chin on my ear and start purring like a jackhammer.
Six weeks later Shareena's sister, Miss Patchwillow, came to live with us. There was a day and a half of hissing and spitting. Then suddenly it was, "OK, we can be best friends. Let me show you all the places in the house we're not allowed to go."
Shareena grew into a sleek elegant lady, at least in looks.
She didn't always act the lady. She was definitely alpha cat and kept all the other kitties in line.
She loved kittens--one at a time. Whenever I was fostering a litter of kittens for the local shelter she would pick one off them to be "her" baby. She wasn't mean to the others, just ignored them.
When she was about 2 years old I started showing Shareena as a Household Pet in CFA. After a couple of years just going to an occasional show she surprised me by moving into the top 10 HHPs in the region. She was 7th Best HHP that year. The next two years she moved up to 4th and 3rd best. In 2016 she was on her way to being 2nd Best HHP when she developed severe allergies and I had to stop showing her. She still ended up in 7th place for that show year. She never did fully recover from the allergies, but she enjoyed being retired and staying home the last 3 years.
A few months ago she was losing weight because her mouth was so sore she couldn't eat. The dental specialist removed a huge mass from the side of the throat. It tested negative for cancer, but I wonder if that was a false negative. She was eating normally again but never gained back the weight. A couple of weeks ago she started losing weight again.
She was still alert and active almost to the end. When I put out the wet food at midnight on Saturday she came running and pushed her way in to be sure so got to the food first. A little later I found her lying on her side next the the dish with some food left in it. She ate a little yogurt from a spoon for me. Then I just held her and petted her and brushed her for about 2 hours. She was making biscuits and purring almost as loudly as she did as a kitten. I left her sleeping on her bed when I went to bed at 3:00 AM.
When I got up Sunday morning she had gone into the closet and curled up on a quilt, too weak to even lift her head. I wrapped her in a soft blanket and held her for an hour until she took her last breath and the light went out of her eyes.
My beautiful Shareena crossed the Rainbow Bridge April 7, 2019, on her 12th birthday.