When I was 11 years old my family was living in Apollo Beach, FL. One day my mother went to the bank to do a transaction and there was a black and white tuxedo kitten laying beneath one of the bushes out front. He was meowing at a woman and her grandchild and they were looking at the cat and petting him. My mother went in and came out and they were still there and she thought they would help the cat out because she overheard them talking about taking it to a vet. A few hours went by and my mom realized that the bank had made an error in their accounting and so she had to drive back to the bank. The kitten was still there under the bush, but had passed out! Needless to say, she forgot all about her banking and put the cat in the car and drove to the nearest vet. They checked the cat out while my mom waited. It was dehydrated, there was a milky white film over it's eyes and the hair was gone on insides of it's legs. They said it was a female cat of about 10 months. The cat was so sweet, she couldn't just leave it there, she brought it home.
So my brother and I came home from school and what a great surprise! We had a cat after so long without one! Our last cat had been in WA state when we both were toddlers. We played with it but mom said not to get too attached because our father wasn't too hot on the idea of having a cat. We couldn't help ourselves though, we gave it a name: Elizabeth. Such a great name for such an elegant kitty!
The day after, my dad injured his back at work. Something about a slipped disk if I remember. He had to lay in bed for a few days the doctor had said. Well, he still hadn't warmed up to the cat by this point. It was almost like Elizabeth knew that she had to win him over, she had already won over my mom and brother and I! She used this opportunity to come up and lay on his chest and purr to him all day. Well from then on she was our forever cat!
A few months go by and Elizabeth is getting bigger. One day while washing herself in the sun, I saw something that I hadn't noticed before... Elizabeth wasn't a girl! Everyone was shocked and amused that not only had we not noticed, but even the vet hadn't noticed! Well, we needed another elegant name and I was studying Abraham Lincoln in school so: viola! Meet Abraham!
Well, our family was a military family so we moved alot and we took Abraham with us wherever we went! He moved with us to the panhandle of FL and then to Germany, and finally to Colorado. He saw our family through the divorce of my parents, the wedding of myself to my husband, and the adoption of his little brother Red who is back with my mother in CO. He was the very best lap cat a person could ask for. And even though his purr was faint, you could tell he loved you when he looked in your eyes and kneaded you ever so gently. Mom always said he remembers the day we brought him home and never let us forget how much he appreciated it!
Last year when Abraham was 18 and Red was 15, Abraham started getting mad at Red for no reason at all. Abe used to love grooming Red whenever Red would put his head into his chest, but Abe would have none of it. He also had trouble getting around. He would walk a few steps and then have to just lay down and rest wherever he happened to be. Lots of vet visits later we found he had a heart problem and his kidneys were starting to fail. They told us to just let him take it easy for a while, and gave us meds for him. We were praying for a full recovery but he got worse instead of better. He was in so much pain, we knew he would give us a sign that he wanted to go. One morning my mom called to me to come upstairs and told me that Abraham was really bad, he hadn't moved from his sleeping position all night and into the next morning. We took him in and said our goodbyes and kissed him and loved him for the last time. Mom and I stayed while everything happened, even though I lost my balance and blacked out after the vet left.
I know now we did the right thing for him, he was in so much pain. I still cry for him all these months later. There will never be a sweeter more loving cat. I hope everyone gets to have an "Abraham" in their life like I did. I can't wait until we meet at the Rainbow Bridge and all of us can live together again. I love you "Mr. Abrew"!
So my brother and I came home from school and what a great surprise! We had a cat after so long without one! Our last cat had been in WA state when we both were toddlers. We played with it but mom said not to get too attached because our father wasn't too hot on the idea of having a cat. We couldn't help ourselves though, we gave it a name: Elizabeth. Such a great name for such an elegant kitty!
The day after, my dad injured his back at work. Something about a slipped disk if I remember. He had to lay in bed for a few days the doctor had said. Well, he still hadn't warmed up to the cat by this point. It was almost like Elizabeth knew that she had to win him over, she had already won over my mom and brother and I! She used this opportunity to come up and lay on his chest and purr to him all day. Well from then on she was our forever cat!
A few months go by and Elizabeth is getting bigger. One day while washing herself in the sun, I saw something that I hadn't noticed before... Elizabeth wasn't a girl! Everyone was shocked and amused that not only had we not noticed, but even the vet hadn't noticed! Well, we needed another elegant name and I was studying Abraham Lincoln in school so: viola! Meet Abraham!
Well, our family was a military family so we moved alot and we took Abraham with us wherever we went! He moved with us to the panhandle of FL and then to Germany, and finally to Colorado. He saw our family through the divorce of my parents, the wedding of myself to my husband, and the adoption of his little brother Red who is back with my mother in CO. He was the very best lap cat a person could ask for. And even though his purr was faint, you could tell he loved you when he looked in your eyes and kneaded you ever so gently. Mom always said he remembers the day we brought him home and never let us forget how much he appreciated it!
Last year when Abraham was 18 and Red was 15, Abraham started getting mad at Red for no reason at all. Abe used to love grooming Red whenever Red would put his head into his chest, but Abe would have none of it. He also had trouble getting around. He would walk a few steps and then have to just lay down and rest wherever he happened to be. Lots of vet visits later we found he had a heart problem and his kidneys were starting to fail. They told us to just let him take it easy for a while, and gave us meds for him. We were praying for a full recovery but he got worse instead of better. He was in so much pain, we knew he would give us a sign that he wanted to go. One morning my mom called to me to come upstairs and told me that Abraham was really bad, he hadn't moved from his sleeping position all night and into the next morning. We took him in and said our goodbyes and kissed him and loved him for the last time. Mom and I stayed while everything happened, even though I lost my balance and blacked out after the vet left.
I know now we did the right thing for him, he was in so much pain. I still cry for him all these months later. There will never be a sweeter more loving cat. I hope everyone gets to have an "Abraham" in their life like I did. I can't wait until we meet at the Rainbow Bridge and all of us can live together again. I love you "Mr. Abrew"!
