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And still the world goes on...

Ally T

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Big hugs Layla.
 

junebug17

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Oh I am just so sorry for the loss of your sweet Duncan @Layla, I know you and dh are suffering. Sending love to you. And thank you for helping another kitty in the midst of your grief. Big hugs.
 

mary poppins

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Aw, sorry to hear Duncan passed away. It's so hard to lose a furry family member, especially one as special as Duncan. I'm glad you found the new stray and she's helping to keep your spirits up during this otherwise sad time.
 

foxinsox

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I’m so sorry for your loss @LaylaR. Duncan looks like the sweetest cat.
 

Polished

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So sorry for your loss Layla. Duncan looks adorable and what a legacy he started with everything you and John do for cats. One very special cat.
 

erislynn

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I’m so sorry for your loss, Layla. You gave Dunca a long, happy life and loved him with all your heart. That’s all our furbabies need, and now he’ll be watching over you, just from a taller perch. *hugs*
 

yennyfire

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I’m so sorry @LaylaR. Sending gentle hugs to you. Bless you for helping the sweet kitty that crossed your path....I think Duncan sent you there for a reason.

May his memory always bring a smile to your face....
 

LaylaR

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Thank you all so much for the outpouring of sympathy, comfort and caring. I have read all your posts and they are like a balm. Thank you for understanding how much Duncan meant to me and John and how much we miss him. ((HUGS)) to everyone, and especially to everyone who has lost a loved one, a companion they miss so much.

I managed to brush out the Puffy (that's what we're calling her for now, we can't get attached) somewhat. She's still very snarled and matted on her underside, chest and belly and pants, but she gave me a warning nip when I tried to tackle it. And honestly she might need to have her underside clipped and a bath if she's going to be with us more than a few days. :cry: She's just over 9 pounds, and while I can feel her spine she's not starved. Her ears are clean, so are her paws and claws, and her teeth are in good shape. She's an adult but I'd be surprised if she's older than 3. We've given her flea and tick medication. And she's eating and drinking and everything well.

I have to figure out where I can get her chip scanned. The county SPCA is closed Monday and Tuesday, so we'll have to see if one of the local vets will scan her. We checked all the local spots where people post pictures of lost cats, and didn't see one that fit her. I took a bunch of pictures and made a poster for her. And of course, I'll send her pictures to our apartment office and the county. She's a lap cat.

Pictures of Puffy as promised: (if I can't find her real owners she will be free to good PS home FYI, we can't keep her):

20190324_155751.jpg 20190324_212343.jpg 20190324_213723.jpg 20190324_213845.jpg 20190324_213857.jpg
 

ringo865

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Oh Layla, Puffy is a beautiful fluffball! Look at that face :kiss2:
 

Wewechew

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Puffy is beautiful!!!!!!!
 

junebug17

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Oh my gosh she's gorgeous :love:

Sending continued love and hugs @LaylaR, the first few days after such a loss are just...really hard. <3
 

Mayk

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Feb 12, 2011
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So very sorry for your loss.
 

msop04

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Dec 3, 2011
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I'm so very sorry for your loss, @LaylaR... :( We have an 18.5 year old kitty that I fear is going downhill (weighed 14.7 lbs in 2016, but 7.7 lbs now). I've had him since I had my own place, and he is my home. I adopted him when he was only 4 weeks old and taught him how to "eat" and use the litter box. Punkin despises everyone, but absolutely adores us... His coloring is similar to your sweet Duncan.

Punkin.JPG

...and Puffy is just a doll baby!
 

alpha238

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I’m so sorry for your loss.
 

Tekate

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Layla, our furkids are our kids, it's simple and it's love. I am so sorry Duncan went over to Rainbow Ridge, but I hope you will see him again in the far future.. My most sincere condolences, it's so painful.
 

princessandthepear

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I am so sorry for the loss of your sweetest furbaby. They really are so special in their unconditional love and devotion to us. May you honor and keep his memory strong.
 

LaylaR

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Sorry for going MIA. I've been very sick this week. Thank you all for your support, there's such a hole in the world for me. We just made arrangements for his cremation and we need to order a pet urns on etsy.

Puffy is home with her loving family who were relieved she was found safe. A little ray of sunshine in a dark time.

Our Lucy, who is our next (living) eldest was just diagnosed with a large tumor in her brain that will kill her within the next month without a high risk surgery that will cut into her brain. So it's been a crappy week. And your posts and your support are greatly appreciated. Thank you guys so much.

@msop04 : Huge hugs for you and Punkin.
 

JPie

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I’m so glad that you were able to find Puffy’s family and so sad about Lucy’s diagnosis. I can’t imagine what you’re going through and my heart goes out to you. :cry2:
 

missy

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@LaylaR honey, I am so sorry about Lucy's diagnosis. Life is so cruel. :cry2:
I am glad you found Puffy's loving family.

Sending you big (((HUGS))) and much love. You continue to be in my thoughts.
 

mary poppins

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Glad to hear your efforts to find Puffy's family were successful. So sorry to hear about Lucy's devastating diagnoses. That's a really hard blow, especially so close after losing Duncan. Sending PS dust and gentle hugs your way.
 

LJsapphire

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So sorry for your loss :(2
 

diamondseeker2006

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So sad to hear about Duncan as well as Lucy's diagnosis, Layla. sad :(( I am also sorry you've been sick and hope you'll be feeling better soon!
 

OboeGal

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I'm so sorry for the loss of your sweet Duncan and for Lucy's diagnosis. It is so, so hard, and so, so worth it all, isn't it? My DH and I just sent a beloved 16 year old kitty who had been with me since she was 12 weeks old over the bridge last Friday, after trying everything we and our vet could think of to save her life for the last three months. Now we deal with early stages of liver disease in our 18.5 year old, who is my heart kitty. She has survived acute kidney failure and losing a leg to fibrosarcoma many years ago, and is medicated twice a day for hyperthyroidism - and now her liver is starting to fail. Like @msop04's Punkin, she came to me as a four week old that I taught to eat and use a litter box as well, after her feral mother became dinner for a coyote. I so hope that when my time comes, I get the privilege of going to be where she will be going to join her and all the pups and kitties that I've gotten to share life with.

Hugs to you and your DH.
 

ZestfullyBling

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For those of you who know me, you know I had seven cats, all of which are rescues. One of which this forum helped me rescue. I also have two fosters that desperately need a new home. I try not to have favorites but...

And on Friday I we had to put my eldest, and my favorite, Dunca, to sleep. My husband and I don't own a home. Due to my husband's job we've moved very often. And my cats and my husband are my home. And if I'm to be honest my husband and Duncan were tied for 'home.' My husband and I have been together for 19 years. Duncan has been with us for 17. He's the entire reason we rescue as many cats as we can. He's the entire reason we have so many. He was the perfect cat. And he was the most loving animal. He adored me and John and was truly as devoted and loyal as people think only dogs are. Anyone who met Duncan tried to run off with him, and even people that didn't like cats loved him. I called him my heart, my baby cat, and my angel.

He died in the middle of the night. By the time we got home from the emergency vet it was morning. And while we were driving I saw a rainbow. I've seen rainbows before but they've always been a part of a rainbow. Usually half of one that faded into the sky. But that morning, when I thought nothing in the world could make me laugh, suddenly there was a full rainbow as if someone had photoshopped it into the sky. Just like the one below. And I heard this sound and I realized I was laughing with the simply joy of seeing something so amazing. It was only there for a couple of minutes but it was there. And I thought, fancifully perhaps, that it was heaven welcoming my baby home. We always call it the rainbow bridge after all.

rainbow.jpg

And then tonight, my husband and I went to a pub (something we never do) to raise a glass and toast our baby's passing. And on the way home a cat ran across the road. And we braked. I stepped out and called out to it, and it came running. Scared, cold, uncertain, fur matted. And so well socialized it jumped up into my lap when I sat back in the car. She's one of the most beautiful cats i've seen in person, she's so fluffy (I'll post a picture tomorrow), and sweet. I'm sure she's owned by someone, so we'll take pictures of her tomorrow, and then take her in on Monday to see if she has a chip and get her home where she belongs. There is no way she's a stray. And when she jumped in my lap, I swear I felt Duncan with me. Telling me to help her. And letting me know he'll always be with me.

He was and always will be my heart.
mommys heart.jpg


Thank you for sharing your warm hearted story, brought me to tears. It's amazing how our furbabys are truly our family. I'm so in love with my Rylo(bullmastiff) he has been my rock through my emotional ups and downs.

Here's to Duncan. Sending hugs your way @LaylaR
 

meely

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Jan 2, 2014
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1,859
So sorry for the loss of Duncan and for Lucy's diagnosis. I think your fur babies are so lucky to have found such a loving and special home x
 

AGBF

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Jan 26, 2003
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22,143
We have an 18.5 year old kitty that I fear is going downhill (weighed 14.7 lbs in 2016, but 7.7 lbs now). I've had him since I had my own place, and he is my home. I adopted him when he was only 4 weeks old and taught him how to "eat" and use the litter box. Punkin despises everyone, but absolutely adores us... His coloring is similar to your sweet Duncan.

He is very special, msop04. Thank you for telling us his story. I have been where you are (albeit with dogs) and having a pet going "downhill" is, perhaps, one of the worst things I have experienced. I send you good thoughts and prayers for Punkin as well as for yourself and your family.

Hugs,
Deb
 

AGBF

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Our Lucy, who is our next (living) eldest was just diagnosed with a large tumor in her brain that will kill her within the next month without a high risk surgery that will cut into her brain. So it's been a crappy week. And your posts and your support are greatly appreciated. Thank you guys so much.

I am so sorry, Layla. That is soul crushing news. I do not know how you will make it through this. As you posted, you did bring some sunshine into the world by getting Puffy home. I hope that from time to time you can reflect on the happiness you brought into that cat's life (and her owners' lives) though your actions. Sometimes the world seems like such a sad place that I could just weep all day. But good actions are the only remedy we have, I think.

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Hugs,
Deb
 

LaylaR

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You are all so wonderful. Thank you for your consideration and caring. Taking the grieving day by day. Some of it is bitter, some of it is sweet. Most is in between. Pictures hurt and help. So do the other kiddos. I've been squeezing them extra tight.

I have an update: Lucy had her surgery today at UC Davis. Her tumor was like a donut hole in her brain, with her brain the donut all around the tumor. So it was high risk to remove it as they had to cut into the brain, but the surgery went well though there was some bleeding, and now she's in ICU for 3 days while they monitor her for brain swelling, seizures, hemorrhaging and other dangers. So, I am cautiously hopeful since the first hurdle of the actual surgery has passed.

We always do portraits of our kiddos when they pass, so I contacted the artist I used for Frodo's portrait and she's going to start on Duncan's in a couple of weeks. Here's her portrait of Frodo for reference (her name is Kellas Campbell on etsy and she's lovely). frodo.jpg

Thank you all for your thoughts, encouragement and empathy. I hope this thread is helpful for others who have either lost thier babies, or are facing doing so sooner than they'd like.

Hugs @OboeGal
 
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