E.T - a visit from Rainbow Bridge

As all owners of multi-cat households can attest to, each cat owns a little piece of your heart but, every once in a while, a special kitty comes along who captures a piece that is a little bigger than the others'. This is what happened to me when I met a little female named, ET.

ET was one of six beautiful kittens born in my basement window well by a feral mother. We found homes for two of the kittens but kept the four that no one wanted. Tee, as she came to be known, was the only female and was frequently tormented by her bigger brothers.

As time went by Tee became a transient diabetic and I separated her from her brothers in order to keep a closer watch on her sugar levels. She stayed in my bedroom with me and we bonded very closely. She was very smart and funny and while she liked my husband she was without a doubt "Mommy's Little Girl".

Tee also developed hyperthyroidism and we would crush her pill and put it in a small amount of food and make sure that she took it. I tend to be quicker than my husband and Tee would lose patience with him when he fed her too slowly and would actually scold him and stamp her tiny front paws. We would laugh at her temper as she tried to speed him along.

After awhile I noticed that something wasn't right with Tee. That special sparkle that she's always had was lacking and I knew something was wrong with her health. I took her to my Vet and explained the problem. Blood work was taken and all turned out well. I watched her some more and was convinced her kidneys were failing but again her tests were negative. I was feeling helpless and the Vets were getting annoyed.

One holiday weekend, it was obvious that Tee was very ill so we brought her up to the emergency Vet where it was shown that she was in kidney failure. How could this happen so quickly when for months nothing had shown? No one had any answers for me. She was given fluids but it was a quick downhill slide.

The dreaded day finally arrived when I had to make the decision to have her euthanized. She could no longer stand, get to her litter box and wasn't eating at all. I was devastated. I have owned and loved many cats and have had to face this day before. They were all so weak and sick that putting them in their carriers was never a problem. Tee, who barely had the strength to lift her head, managed to put up a fight when being put in her carrier. This hurt me more than I could have imagined.

The next couple of days were horrible. I cried at inappropriate times and just thought about Tee. One night while sitting in the kitchen staring blankly at the newspaper, I caught out of the corner of my eye a sort of white "cloud" close to the floor dash across the living room, dining room and stand in front of the atrium door looking out like Tee used to do right before she passed on. I didn't get up; I just sat there frozen and blissfully happy. I had no doubt that it was Tee. I knew I wasn't supposed to go in the dining room. I just sat where I was and whispered "Hello, sweet Tee. Mommy is so happy that you are here. I love you, my darling little girl."

Bill walked into the kitchen and commented on how happy I looked and I told him that Tee was here. He just said OK in a weird way and left.

This went on for days always at the same time. One day Bill came into the kitchen through the dining room and he was pale and had beads of sweat on his forehead. I was afraid it was his heart. I asked him if he was OK and he said in an unsteady voice that he had just seen Tee looking out the Atrium door.

I am positive that Tee came back to comfort me and she kept coming back until her "slow" Daddy finally saw and acknowledged her presence. I can just picture her stamping her little white paws and wondering when this slow Daddy was finally going to see her!

Since then I have had visits from other kitties. They always occur soon after my angels depart for the bridge. I don't know if they return to comfort me or if they have a problem with the transition to another place and return until they are comfortable remaining at the bridge. Whatever the reason, their visits are welcome miraculous occurrences that ease my aching heart.

Arlene of Arlene's Angels

ED'S NOTE:

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