I am a wife, a mother, an auntie and a friend. I love thrifting, garage sales, re-purposing, creating, painting, anything that makes our little rental home more welcoming, comfortable and cozy. I have discovered the "art" of amateur photography & I love the idea of capturing the beauty in the ordinary everyday things that surround us. Blogging is a wonderful way to make new friends and share with people who have the same interests. My personal taste in decorating leans towards "casual cottage/coastal decor". I now have a small shop on etsy, called "SandySeashore" where you'll find some of my vintage finds, my photography and some handmade things. I hope you take the time to check it out! Thanks for droppin' in!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Farewell to a beloved pet.

If you've ever had to say goodbye to a pet after many years together, you know how we feel today. If you're not an animal lover, you'll think I'm just silly, and that's okay, you can skip this post.

Today we finally made the decision to have our sweet cat Topsy (a.k.a. "THE GIRL") put to sleep. She had been ill for several months, we finally gathered the courage to do what was best for her, and let go. She gave us unconditional love for almost 17 1/2 long years. I think that earns her a little tribute, certainly. She was part of the family for such a long time.

She was an SPCA rescue kitten, 6 weeks old and the runt of the litter of 8 kittens. The day I chose her was her last day to be adopted. They were all to be put to sleep the next day, if not adopted because they just had too many for the space they had. I chose her because she was the "outcast" of the litter, quiet and tiny, in a corner by herself. I fell in love as soon as I held her, as she purred happily in my arms.

It had taken me a long time to convince my hubby to get a cat, he'd never had one and didn't really want one. I  immediately went to pick him up at work and (Ha!) he too fell for the little furry ball of love as soon as he held her. She crawled up his chest and into the sleeve of his jacket, where she stayed all the way home.
 
My son, who was 7 years old at the time (now almost 25) was taken with her immediately as well. 

I've had other cats in my life, none like her. She was named "Topsy", after a cat my husband's grandmother had years ago. She was a pretty tabby, with a tail that was never straight, but always curled. If you pulled it straight, it curled right back up onto her back.
That made the name we gave her fit her all the more,  for some reason.

She greeted us at the door like a dog and always wanted a spot on someone's lap to curl up on. She liked to rub her nose to my hubby's nose, but would lightly bite mine, like a little "love" bite. When she was little she really like to curl up in my son's baseball cap as soon as he dropped it somewhere. 

She played many roles in her time with us, as most cats do.
She was a wonderful companion, great warming blanket, 

an entertainer, acrobat, somewhat of a Houdini, loved to help us read the paper (by sitting on it), helped with homework (by sitting on it), good head warmer, alarm clock, and even tried to be a paramedic once! Oh, I have to share that story!

My husband fell while getting out of the tub one day, hit his head and passed out. When he came to, Topsy was on his chest, kneading it, as if trying to resuscitate him! LOL
Babysitting! (there's that Topsy tail!)

A few more Topsy anecdotes:

More than a few disappearing acts! Once we looked all over for her, (she was an indoor cat), couldn't find her...until we opened the refrigerator! There she was!

We learned not to leave the dryer door open, she's sneak in there and get all cozy.

She once pulled a ham out of the fridge that was more than twice her weight.

She ate an entire piece of cheese cake that was left on the kitchen counter.

She got drunk! Seriously. A visitor spilled her beer and clamato juice all over the cat. She took off and cleaned herself for quite a while and when she came back into the room she was staggering! She even had the hiccups! LOL


She had been teased by the neighbor's cat Whiskey several times. He'd sit on our deck, right on the other side of the patio door and antagonize her. She would growl, swat her tail, and get very upset. One day, after Whiskey had just done his "teasing", my husband opened the door to go out, well, our cute little Topsy ran as fast I've ever seen any cat run, jumped the 5 1/2 foot fence in one bound, chased Whiskey into his own house, up the stairs, and taught him a lesson in his owner's master bedroom closet~! My hubby had to go to the neighbor's with a blanket, break up the cat fight and bring her home! She showed HIM!!!!

Truth be told, Whiskey never teased her like that again. LOL

She was always right there with us when we worked on some renovation/decorating project. in the photo above she's leaning on the wainscoting we were installing.
Let me help you with the laundry!
 When my brother in law Darcy took her to his place for a few days to "cat sit" for us, she was delighted to find the "touch lamp" in his bedroom turned off and on, with each flick of her paw! When he finally got woken up enough times, he unplugged it, so she walked along the window ledge with her curly tail opening the curtains to let in the blinding light from the street! When he kicked her out of his bedroom, she just found another way to annoy him - batting a toy around all night! He SWEARS she was the only cat he ever liked!
Here, I'll open the scanner lid for you!

Okay, I'm done unwrapping this one, what's next?

Christmas 2011, enjoying her new bed cover!

As I said, it may be silly to some, but our hearts are heavy tonight. 


We miss you already Topsy! 

Can you see her under the Hydrangea bush?

She didn't go outside much, but when she did, this was one of her favorite spots.
It's where her ashes will go in the spring.



 Even that pesky dog Molly is gonna miss you.
 (I was trying to get a nice picture of the cat, when the jealous dog jumped up and joined her on the bench, much to the cat's dismay, as you can see by the look on her face!)

Thanks for the years of unconditional love and affection, for the laughs, and the cuddles.



May you rest in peace sweet "Girl".
Topsy  "The Girl"
Sept 18, 1994 - Jan 20, 2012

Thanks for following.
xx
Sandra

3 comments:

  1. Aww hunny I have been thinking about you all day, giving my kitty extra hugs and kisses for you. I loved her stories, especially the refrigerator!! That is too cute. Thank you for sharing these special stores with us.
    Sending you extra love and hugs today sweet friend
    xoxoxox

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sandra, I'm so sorry for the loss of your sweet Topsy. I fully understand the feelings you are surely feeling, as we lost our old German Shepherd, Jasmin, in early December and sadly, our other Shepherd, Bo, probably won't be too far behind her.

    Based on your stories, Topsy sounds like she was quite the character. I hope these happy and funny memories you have of all the years with her help you and your family through this sad time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Sandra, I am new to your blog, but can completely relate...pets have such special places in our hearts and have filled such wonderful memories. I enjoyed your stories of her. I too have had such special pets, they are fantastic creatures. She couldn't have had a better life by the sounds of it.

    ReplyDelete