Ziggy Remembered

Sundown has posted the first installment of Ziggy's story at Sundown's Little Corner.

We've all seen the positive effect that the web can have on lives - just the sharing of ordinary folk with one another can be very powerful. I join with you, Sundown, in my wish that Ziggy's story might serve to help raise awareness of FeLV/FIV and comfort others who have walked, or are walking, the same path. What a fitting memorial to a wonderful companion!

Sundown, Kitty Chair and Waterdragon, we have been very honored that you've shared your journey with us!

Hugs from everyone at Space Paws!
Lisa

Vaya Con Dios Ziggy

To All:

Ziggy passed on to the Rainbow Bridge peacefully at 1:22pm MDT on August 5th, 2009. His immediate family was with him at the end. The vet who came was so very nice and compassionate with us, explaining the whole process as we went. She held our hands, and was so very gentle with Ziggy. We weren't sure what to expect, but the end was gentle and peaceful for him. We watched his final stretch as his soul departed, as if he was saying, "That feels so much better."

He departed from his favorite spot on a small table in front of the living room window of our house, with the window open and the birds singing in the tree outside in our front yard. He could spend hours watching the birds in that tree, the bunnies in our yard and sleeping on the carpeted kitty tree next to the window. In the mornings, he loved to run and jump up on the table next to the window and watch the kids walking to and from the elementary school at the end of our block. I hope one of them notices his little gray face is gone from that window and thinks about him.

My most enduring memory will be seeing him sleeping on the top of the kitty tree this morning as the dawn light streamed in the window and flowed across him. It was as if the sun was honoring him with the most heavenly light it could muster.

Ziggy spent his last days mostly in our living room, as laying down on his side on the cool hardwood floors brought him some comfort with his breathing. We brought a mattress down from our guest room and put it on the floor in the living room, so my wife and I could sleep with him these last few days. We could not bear the thought of him being alone.

During the night, he gave his human mama the greatest final gift he could. He came and cuddled up to her, as he has always done in the past, and slept for a bit draped along her stomach. He was always such a good boy.

Our calico female, Treelo, has been his companion in life, and surprisingly has never strayed far from him or us while he has been home. She slept next to the bed last night, while he slept with my wife. Treelo has been a big comfort to all of us during these last few days. She and Ziggy were unfortunately not the best of friends, and their relationship was a bit passive-aggressive at times, but they were always constant company for one another. At the end, she was present and by her reaction I’m sure she knew what was happening.

We want to express to all of you one final time our deepest gratitude and how much your support has meant to us, and will continue to mean in the days and weeks ahead. It is very comforting to know that all of you bowed your heads with us today for a moment, and asked for all our former loved little ones to help him on his journey. Bless you all.

For our beloved little buddy Ziggy, R.I.P.
Sundown

A day of transition

Our thoughts and prayers will be with Ziggy, Sundown, waterdragon and their family today. Sundown wrote to us again and included the picture, above, of Ziggy. I think I speak for our little community when I say we are all stronger when we pause for a moment to support one another. So many of us have had heartbreaking moments with the companions we love, that we just want to be there for you!

Here's Sundown's letter:

Lisa--

Your kind words are very welcome. We appreciate them, more than you can know.

It's kind of funny, writing and talking about him is somehow rather therapeutic for me. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but all the reading I have done lately on grief and grief counseling says that by talking about him and telling his story to other people, that makes it somewhat easier to write "The End" and close the book of his life. That then begins paving the way for a new book to begin in the future for a new addition to our family. That resonated with me very strongly, so I gave it a try. And I can tell you here and now it does work. So I do not mind writing and sharing my memories of Ziggy with all of you.

It has been a day filled with love and sadness, and a little good news. We got our older male cat, Hubbard, tested for FIV/FeLV and he is negative on both counts. That was a ray of sunshine for us, and our family vet tells us that Treelo is most likely negative as well, since she is an older cat and older cats can fight off the virus much better. We're not out of the woods yet, but I think I can see the tree-line from here.

My sister is here, seeing Ziggy for the last time. She wanted to come and we were happy to accommodate her. She's in right now sitting with Ziggy and my wife, and they are talking about him. It is good to have family here with us. My parents are driving nine hours tomorrow and Thursday morning to be with us after Ziggy is gone. It will also be good to have them here. I don't know if my sister told you but we are also in the process of buying a house and preparing to move. My parents will most likely stay for several days and help us get our packing back on track after our huge detour. Something and someone else to concentrate on will be helpful for us.

You are welcome to pass along this that I gave you today. I am also attaching a picture of Ziggy to include in your post.

The post from earlier is very nice. We appreciate it.

Sundown

Let's all be with Ziggy, Sundown and their family, in spirit, tomorrow

One of the most special things I've seen in my years following adoption blog communities is our ability to come together to support one another, especially in difficult times. Ziggy and his family will need our support tomorrow. Sundown wrote to us last night:

It's been a rough few days for us, and to see and read all the support from your readers was quite touching.

It is then with a heavy heart that I tell you that we have made the difficult decision to help Ziggy on his journey to the next world. While it has been very comforting to have him home, his breathing is slowly becoming more labored and he is beginning to show all the classic signs of being near the end. And we do not want him to suffer for our sake. So, we have contacted a very nice local vet who specializes in at-home euthanasia to come and take good care of our special little boy. Wednesday at noon MDT is the chosen time. We are planning a private cremation, with his ashes returned to us so he can stay close to our hearts.

If you would like to update your readers on him, we would be very honored to have you do so.

Thank you again for you and your group's support,
Sundown

An Angels Video & Some Positive Engergy Needed for One of Our Own!

I had the chance to go to Monica's and meet the Angels in person!! We had a blast and I'll tell you more tomorrow. Here's a quick video and then please read down... Waterdragon's kitty-nephew and his family could use our support!


Waterdragon has asked us to send some positive energy to Ziggy and his family in the comments of the last post and I asked her if it was OK to bring this to the front so we'd all have a chance to do that...

"I'm sorry to have to "borrow" someone else's blog for this, but I thought that if anyone in the world would understand, it would be the folks who hang out here. I had an email waiting in my inbox this morning from my SIL--she and my brother spent a good share of the night at the emergency vet's with one of their cats, and she was asking for prayers on my furry nephew's behalf. He's apparently been having trouble breathing for the last few days, and when the clinic staff examined him, he had a lot of fluid built up in his chest cavity, which is apparently an indicator of some sort of heart trouble. They drained the fluid (which took the pressure off his lungs) and have sent it off for lab analysis, but in her words, "It's not looking good." Which is utterly heartbreaking, because Ziggy (my kitty-nephew) is only about 3, and my brother and SIL adopted him from a local no-kill shelter just a year ago. So if y'all here could say a prayer to your deity of choice or send some good thoughts and healing vibes for Ziggy, it would be MOST appreciated. (Here is a photo of Ziggy, taken the day they brought him home last year, if anyone would like to see. Such a handsome boy, and so sweet-natured--I've never met a more laid-back cat.)"

And she she said, yes to including this in a post...

"Any and all good vibes would be appreciated right now, as the news from their vet seems to be getting worse instead of better. They ran an FIV test on Ziggy which came back positive, and the x-rays they took show a mass in his chest, so now they're afraid it's cancer of some kind. They're also checking him for feline lukemia, which is doubly scary because they have two other cats who might be at risk if THAT comes back positive. SIL says they're trying to think positive, but until the rest of tests come back, we're all just holding our collective breaths, I think. And on top of everything else, they just bought a house and are trying to get packed up to move at the same time, so it's just a horrible situation all around."

Waterdragon, our thoughts and prayers are with you, Ziggy and his family!