Monday, March 21, 2011

Until Now...


I'd been unable to scrap this photo of my deceased kitty Griffyndor. I had to have him sent to kitty heaven last year when his kidneys failed. I noticed early that spring that he was losing weight and his coat was getting dull. I waited to take him to the vet because I knew in my heart that something was terribly wrong. She confirmed my fears, he was in kidney failure. She explained that this ailment is fairly common is all white animals. Something to do with the recessive genes. Nothing short of dialysis would help him (insanely expensive), so I brought him back home. She said he wasn't in any pain but to watch for dehydration and feed him a high protein diet. Instructing me to bring him back if he was in pain or seemed to be suffering.


I kept him home until late May. He gradually lost more weight until he was a third of his normal weight. Following me from room to room became his routine. He would sit next to me or in my lap while I was on the computer, slept in my closet on my clothes and looked at me with such love & faith in his eyes. I knew it was time, but it took me a while to build up the courage to let him go.

He is still with me, in spirit. I still think I see him out of the corner of my eye and find one of his hairs knit into the fabric of the couch once in a while. He is buried in our yard with another beloved kitty, Jacob Marley. As you can tell, I'm one of those "cat" ladies. My kitties are my children as much as my biological ones. If that makes me crazy, then so be it!

The butterflies were made with the new die and embossing folders from Cuttlebug I snagged at Hobby Lobby the other day. Used Coor'dinations paper then sanded the embossed dots and edges. The felt butterflies are from the $1 spot at Micheals and were marked down to 50 cents! Loads of symbolism here.



                                                             
Enough with the sadness!  Time to go tuck my "kids" in bed. I can't believe they are 12 & 14 already. Where did the time go?

Back tomorrow with another layout. Thanks for stopping by!

4 comments:

DanaMK said...

I absolutely love this LO. Your sentiment and feelings behind it are so touching and I love the colours you used and the butterflies symbolize freedom to me. Hugs!

Kathy said...

I loved this LO when I saw it on Club CK the other day. So sorry for your loss. My Angel kitty left us on 12/13/04 unexpectedly. Left a huge hole in my heart. Your LO and the story are very touching. HUGS.

Steffanie said...

Such a beautiful memory. Glad you were finally able to scrap it and share it with us. Your page is so pretty and I LOVE how you did the butterflies!

ELLEN said...

I totally understand your reluctance to scrap a favorite photo of your dear pet as I too lost a dear furbaby on New Year's Eve and have felt the same way. However it did help to give me closure and give me a way to remember her forever. Your page is absolutely beautiful, and I love the symbolism in your LO!