Wednesday, August 4, 2010

MAMA MILLIE #9




Let's go back 19 years ago. My first husband was deceased and Mama Millie continued to live with me in my home. My niece, Emilie, called me to ask if I wanted a cat. She had found a cat and she couldn't keep it, and it needed a home. Now, let's say I haven't had any experience with cats,but agreed to give it a home. I'm a sucker and now we had a cat. We named it Fluffy as this cat had alot of beautiful thick grey hair. We noticed that this cat ate alot and since we had to take it to the vet, we would enquire about this and taking care of a cat. The vet gave us the good news(drum roll) Fluffy was female and pregnant with possible 5 kittens. I don't believe that Fluffy had consented to having sex, she was raped. No matter, we were going to be "grandparents". The time came for the birth of the "grandchildren". Fluffy gave us the "high sign", and we were ready in the "operating room", which was the bathroom. How was Mama Millie and myself to know that cats don't lay down in delivery. My sister was our consultant. At delivery, we had 5 babies, 2 were grey, 1 totally white with a mass of hair, 1 black with a mass of hair, 1 calico.After the babies were born Mama Millie, got emotional and wanted to keep one cat, the calico, and then we would try to find homes for the other 4 babies. Mama Millie and I named her cat Humpty Dumpty as she was the last kitten to be delivered. When it was time that the kittens could be separated from their mother, we placed an ad in the newspaper for free kittens. Now my mother cries for any reason, she did this when we placed the ad. It amazed us the response we received from the ad. The first night from the ad, we had visitors coming to our house about the kittens. The weird thing, it was raining and we had thunder storms. There must be a large number of cat lovers in the world. We had two families who each adopted a grey kitten for their families. Mama Millie, started with the tears. She was worried that these people wouldn't take care of the kittens. Later that evening, while we were still having heavy rain, the doorbell rang and a father and his daughter looked at the remaining kittens and decided to adopt the white kitten, that meant we had one more kitten left,the black kitten, remember we are keeping the calico. As this man was getting to leave,I did a "salesman pitch",and asked this man to also consider the black kitten, My words, ," Don't you want this kitten as well, this kitten it's a match with the white kitten". They left only with the white kitten. Mama Millie once again cried. Shortly, after that time, the doorbell rang again, low and behold the man and his daughter said "we will take this other kitten, it matches with the one we already have". I, couldn't believe that my sales pitch worked. Again Mama Millie cried. We kept the calico because Mama Millie got attached , we named her "Humpty Dumpty ". Days after the 4 babies were gone, I got a telephone call. The man who took the 2 kittens (I was afraid he was calling to say He couldn't keep them)His question was," what was the date that the kittens were born," his daughter wanted to have a birthday party for the kittens. Mama Millie cried again because this was so touching and we got a good feel that they would be in a good home. As the years went by, our mama cat "Fluffy", had a tumor. Two weeks after surgery she died. Both Mama Millie and myself cried. Humpty was Mother's cat that she loved, spoiled and was constantly holding. When, Mama Millie, got sick, she made me promise to take care of Humpty. On the day that my Mother died, Humpty wouldn't get off mother's hospital bed that was at my home. Mother died with Humpty, laying alongside her. When we buried my Mother, we placed a photo of Humpty in the casket. The years went by, Humpty was 18 years old, but she looked like a younger cat. Within the last 6 months,of this year Humpty got sick. The vet advised us to put her to sleep. She is buried in an area near our barn. As I am writing this post, tears are coming down my cheeks. When Humpty died, this opened up the grief that I had when Mother died. Humpty was 18 years old when she died, I had known that cat longer than my husband in my current marriage. I know, I will always have this memory.We have grief for animals,as they became a member of our family. Humpty outlived Mother by 3 years. This cat was my last physical connection with my Mother. Mama Millie and Humpty, are blessings that I have and their death's can't take that away, unless I eliminate them from my mind and heart. When we lose someone or something , we can lose the value of that blessing, if we "put it in a closet", in order to run away from sadness. I choose not to "put this memory in the closet" as this is a blessing,not to be given up by myself. So, let the tears cry for sadness, but let the tears cry for happiness . HElP I tried to delete the photo that is sideways, couldn't do this. I didn't want to continue this,so it's on my post.Still learning this blog process. Rose,Blogger in training.

33 comments:

  1. What sweet memories. I am highly allergic to cats but I've always thought they would make loveable pets.

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  2. That is such a sweet story! Humpty was watching over your mom to the end ....

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  3. Great memories Rose. I too am allergic to cats - but I have seen some really beautiful ones. sandie

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  4. Sweet story Rose...you and Momma Millie were good parents to those kitties and I'm sure they are together again. My Mom was adopted by an adult cat that just showed up one day. Mom never wanted a cat but she couldn't resist taking this one in. She named her Miss Kitty and they became great friends. Miss Kitty died a couple of years ago and Mom really missed her but she did not want us to get her another cat. We decided to abide by her wishes and I guess we'll just have to wait and see if Mom gets adopted by another stray!

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  5. I love cats but we haven't had any for a number of years. They can sure be independent souls but so loving. They're wonderful pets, I think.
    This is a wonderfully sentimental story. Thanks.

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  6. This is such a very good and moving story. I love most animals more than I do many people. Take care --
    Jane

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  7. I really love cats too. My oldest cat knew when my mama was near death here at home and would not leave her side. We also are left with mama's little dachshund. It's nice to have a remaining bond with something mama cherished. This was a lovely post, thanks.

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  8. Come back by later. I'm leaving you something on my blog.
    Weezer

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  9. This was such a beautiful and touching post. I have tears streaming down my cheeks.

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  10. Beautiful and touching post. How wonderful that you and your Mom had such wonderful friends and companions as Fluffy and Humpty Dumpty. And what a lovely story that all the kittens were adopted by nice people.

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  11. Such a great post! I am so sorry for your loss but it sounds like Humpty Dumpty had a long full life full of love and your Mom is happy to have her back with her now. :)

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  12. What a wonderful post, Rose! It made me cry. I am like your mama was, I hate to give away any babies, for fear they won't have a good home! Humpty Dumpty was a faithful friend to the end...how touching. Thanks for sharing this story.

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  13. I'm so sorry for your losses in Humpty and your mother, Rose. Amazing how deeply pets can touch us, just like humans, and our losses get threaded together. Your writing expresses such profound and beautiful messages.
    xoRobyn

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  14. What a sweet and teary memories Ms. Rose. My heart cried for fluffy, and dumty and your Mama Millie. Those cats were indeed part of your life. It takes courage to give away those kittens and it takes courage and braviness to overcome the loss. Even it it was just temporary, those cat had brough so much joy and memories to you and to Mama Millie.

    Btw, to delete the photo in sideways you have to go to you post, click the compose next to that HTML to see the photo. Then click on the photo that you want to delete, right click and cut.

    I hope this will help you delete that photo.

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  15. First I want to thank you for stopping by my blog. I am really glad you did so I could visit you.
    This post is so familar to me. We lost our 16 year old cat just 2 years ago and the wound is still fresh. We have 2 other cats, but I still find myself calling one of them his name by accident. I have been meaning to write a post about it, but can't even get started without getting emotional.

    You now have a new follower!

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  16. Hi Rose,
    Thanks for stopping by my blog. We had to put our cat to sleep last year because her kidneys failed. It was really hard. We now have another cat that we just love, but we don't forget our Cleo.

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  17. A beautiful and touching post as yours generally are. We've had cats over the years, and I've really loved a couple of them, but I've developed an allergy to them the past 10-15 years, so won't be getting any more. I know how much animals can come to mean and I know how much we cherished the chihuahuas my Mom had during her last years after she passed. I'm so glad that we can have memories to help us through the times when we miss them so much!

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  18. Oh Rose, now you have me crying....how we get attached to our furbabies. Once I bought a kitten for our kids, and she graced our lives for 26 years!!! She was with Bud and me long after our kids left home.

    Loved this post.

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  19. Ha ha. I love about Millie not consenting to sex! I'm glad she brought you so much joy and so many good memories. Animals are wonderful! We are considering a dog, but I am seriously holding back based on how hard I know it is when we lose them!

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  20. Such a nice post--good memories also can come out of things like this:) As far as learning the blogging thing--luckily I can call my daughter for help when I get stuck!!

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  21. Loving an animal is good therapy for some people...me--well at this point there are just too many people in my life to tend. Someday...if I am old and alone, I will have a little dog to keep me company. I would rather have a cat--but I'm terribly allergic to them.

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  22. Such a sweet post. I enjoy having a cat around and my daughter inherited that love of cats. We have a cat now named Scout. Scout is supposed to be a family pet but I believe he is really Amanda's cat. Although in May when she was gone for a week I would sometimes find him sleeping at my feet, and since then it's become a bit of a habit.

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  23. Fluffy and Humpty were little blessings for your Mama Millie, and they all make nice memories for you.
    I see from your other posts that you now have dogs.
    We have had a wondrous share of animals, and now we are down to three cats. They almost have me trained, but sometimes they do not seem to be appreciative.

    My mother is now under hospice care but she lives with me. We have one cat in particular that seems to gravitate to my mom. If she is sitting in the den he will usually jump up and sit beside her for a while.
    She sneaks him small bites from her snacks, then they both go to sleep.

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  24. GREAT STORY......YOUR CAT HAD A VERY LONG AND FULL LIFE.
    SUCH GOOD MEMORIES. I HAVE TWO CATS EMMA AND ALEX, THEY ARE SWEET HEARTS.

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  25. I've had to share my computer with my niee and her boys so have not been able to blog as much as I'd like. The story of your cat is touching. I have a cat that my daughter brought me one year when i was ill. She is now entering her golden years and I dread the day I have to let her go.

    Thanks for sharing Elaine

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  26. Loving animals of all kinds is a gift that not everyone has. I think animals esp dogs and cats can make life worth living for many, and just make a day much brighter when you have something furry to love. They love you right back no matter what. It is sad to see them leave your life, but just look at the memories they left you with. Enough for a lifetime. Wonderful story Rose, thankyou, Char

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  27. Oh Rose, I love your kitty story. We lost our Tabby a year ago with cancer. She was only three. She might as well have been 30, we loved her that much. I still have tears when I remember her. She loved us and followed wherever we went. We called her our social kitty.

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  28. This is a beautiful post. The love for our pets is a special one. What a touching story. ((HUGS))
    Thank you for stopping over today and thank you for your sweet comment.

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  29. Rose,yes it is very important to grieve and not stuff your feelings. Love this sory of ypur mama and kitties. We are all about cats here. I have an awful time with photos myself. I fiddle around with them til I get a headache. Thanks bunches for following I will do the same. hugs♥olive

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  30. I had cats for many years - until I got a dog and then she ran away. I never knew what happened to her. The dog just passes away and I found out I'm allergic to cats!

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  31. Rose this is a beautiful story. When my mother-in-law was so ill my nieces little dog Taquito sat at the foot of her bed. After her passing that little dog sat on the floor staring up where the bed had been. Animals have such a wonderful sense. They are really tuned into us. Thank you for sharing. Anne

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  32. That was a wonderful story - true animal lovers, aren't you? It almost made ME cry TOO!

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  33. Awww such a sweet post you had me crying. I didn't know that cats didn't lay down to have them either.

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