Nala

About 4 weeks ago Nala had difficulty with walking properly. It looked like she had an infected toe and after a vet visit it was cleaned up. They gave me an antibiotics to clear out the infection and I hoped that was that. But a week later she still wasn't ok and the vet took a swap for the lab. Last week I heard she had cancer. To be sure if it was just her toe or not, we made one x-ray and found a tumor in her lungs. At this point she didn't eat, drink or wash herself anymore. Options to keep her alive were more like options to keep her suffering. On Monday I had to say goodbye to one of my kitty-children.

I saw Nala be born. I nursed her, because her own mommy didn't know what to do with her children. I took her and her brothers in when they were 2 years old, because it got too crowded with kitties at my friends house where they were staying. I know her for 16 years. She was a diva, ninja and my little ball of fluff. She snuck into my workshop without a sound to crawl on my chair or in a box, just to be near me. She never cared for catfights in the backyard, she just smacked the intruding cat right in the face to make them bugger off. She played with her nails out, making me have to take care of small wounds on her brothers. Everybody loved her at first sight, for she had this pretty long hair and adorable look. But she could be very mean and had the stare of death if a stranger was left alone in the room with her. And I loved every part of her.

I miss her a lot, but little kitties grow old. I'm still checking if she's in her chair and still see her sneaking around in the corner of my eye.

I'm getting a lot of support from friends and family, because they know how crazy I was about her. I'm very grateful. I'm glad I had the chance to say goodbye for a full weekend with cuddles and kisses. Slowly picking up my work again.

I'm running a bit behind with everything. I'm sorry, but I'll think you'll understand.