Pippi

I had intended to write about my day out with the girls on Friday and mention my computer went south the very same day. Lost some files but hey, I lost something far more precious to me yesterday.

It is with great sorrow that I tell you that my Pippi passed away last evening. My frequent readers know how many pictures I have posted of her over the 2 years I have been blogging and how often I talk about her. Heck, she shared billing with the quilts, after all. I assume that this from was the culmination of her kidney insufficiency and heart problems. That is the nurse in me wondering concerned about the cause and effect, I guess. She was first diagnosed in June of 07 so DJ and I both feel blessed that she was with us for a bit longer. The last week or so it was obvious that things were worsening and no treatment was going to be of help this time around. She reminded me of the same things a geriatric human would experience, really.

So bear with me as I write a tribute to a wonderful kitty baby. I married too late in life to have any "real" children. For 11 years it has been Pippi, DJ and I rattling around the house and she was in effect, my child. This is no where near the same as losing a parent or another family member but to me, she was part of my family.

So, we had our girl since early March 97--11 years. The people at the shelter estimated her age to be around 2 when we got her. You see, she was found in a trailer court in LeRoy, IL along with her two orange and white babies. They had already been adopted when we arrived on the scene. I had just had to have her predecessor Tyson Tubbs put to sleep (brain tumor and he could no longer walk) --another sad, sad time. I knew that I needed to find another kitty to love or I was not going to quit crying.

By weeks end, we went to the Humane Society shelter--the cats were on the lower level of the building. The staff member opened one of the doors to a large room and about 4 or 5 cats approached us. All different colors and sizes. DJ was saying "how about this one?" "this one is pretty" and such things. Really Pippi picked me out as much as I picked out her---she turned around and hissed at the other cats like "get away from her!! She's mine" . She had one weepy eye and had licked herself bald from flea allergies on both flanks but they told me she had tortoiseshell markings. I picked her up and DJ said "I don't think you are going to get that one away from her" He was right.

She never was a lap kitty and I always sooooo wanted her to be. Oh, she would occasionally climb on DJ's lap if she thought she might get ice cream bowl lickings. Or even squeeze into his side of the recliner but she would generally slink down low when he tried to pet her. She would take lovin' on her terms and handed out plenty of kitty kisses. She was also good for pawing at the bedcovers, headbutting or circling the pillow if she wanted you up bad enough. What cat doesn't excel at that though? But mostly she got him up to feed her while I got the detail the rest of the day.

She would scare me to death when she climbed up to the rafters of the house. She amazed me at the tight spots she would squeeze into when she wanted to hide. She was a wonderful quilt tester and would also try fabric or batting if none was available. She would make it impossible to make a bed because tossing the sheets and blankets about was an invitation to play as was a bathrobe tie dragging on the floor or a retractable tape measure. She could be the floor show as she played on her catnip box or went tearing up the hall like her tail was on fire or tossing her catnip mouse up in the air and losing a pile of them under the coffee table. She seemed to know when my car came home and often met me at the door AKA her food bowl. She also seemed to be aware when it was time to start dinner always waiting for that handout she seldom got. She was the one who amazingly to the vet, blew out the ACL in her knee a couple summers ago. She was the one who never wanted to go outside but sure could chatter at the birds and act like she was going to dive through the screen if one got too close. She was the one who would alert me, by her behavior, that we might have a real mouse in the house but never catch one. She was the one who would let me share my bed occasionally but loved her window perch best, so much so that she had two of them.

DJ often said she followed me around the house like a puppy. I don't know about that but she would track the sun through the house and often wind up in the sewing room by evening. There she would watch from atop the pressing table, her perch or the fabric shelves. Of course she also had her hiding spots in the sewing room too when privacy was needed. She insisted on drinking her water on a corner of the pressing table and if the bowl wasn't there, the cup that filled the iron would do just as nicely, thank you very much. I could go on and on---she had cattitude.

So we wrapped her in a quilt that I had not necessarily made for her but became hers and DJ buried her out in the yard near the shed where no one is likely to dig up for any reason. We'll plant some perennials out in the area soon.

I will not be able to find us another furbaby till late in the week--that guy is coming to lay the laminate on Thursday and there will be too much in and out and doors opening/closing, too much hubbub to bring a kitty home. I will miss her terribly but I have enough room in my heart for another furry friend to love as long as I am allowed.

Thanks for listening.