Honey from Phoenix

by Emma
(Phoenix)

I was only three years old when I begged my grandmother to take me into the pet store to look at the animals. Unfortunately for her, they had cats for sale!

One of the first cats in the row of many was a small, FLUFFY, tortie cat who was crying at the top of her lungs and pawing at the glass. I was convinced it was all for me and started crying even louder than the cat was.

My grandmother has always told me the cat would choose me, I wouldn’t choose the cat, and as far as I was concerned, she was begging for me!

She came home with us that day. We decided to keep her name, which appropriately was “Honey”. That first night with her was a doozy, but ever so memorable. It was the first of many.

Honey was a very shy kitty, but if you were lucky enough to be a part of her life, you knew she was the best cat in the WHOLE WORLD! She had the most beautiful coat out of any cat I had ever seen, and that was the first thing everyone said about her as soon as they saw her.

She had luscious, thick fur that was a beautiful tortie color with white on her chest, belly, front paws, and back legs. Not to mention her huge tail! And she had a face that could make the toughest man turn to putty.

She had big, beautiful, green eyes, the longest white whiskers, and in her final years, a gray mustache. But my absolute favorite physical feature on her was her sweet little brown spot on her back leg.:)

This frail, skittish cat was the toughest trooper you could imagine. Five house changes aren’t easy on any cat, much less having to share them with very invasive dogs! But more honorably, Honey fought sickness her whole life.

Ever since we first rescued her from the Humane Society, she had intestinal issues that made her vomit and become constantly constipated. A specialized diet seemed to help until Honey was diagnosed with CRF and had to eat strictly prescription food.

She was extremely dehydrated, which made her even more constipated and she was regularly vomiting. Not to mention her extreme weight loss and UTI. At five pounds, she was only half her normal weight.

We were given Sub-Q fluids to give to Honey though an IV at home. It left her with more detriments then benefits and we could no longer continue with the treatment.

Then came the day when Mrs. Honey went blind. The veterinarian informed us that her retinas had detached from high blood pressure as a result from her lacking kidneys, and the chances of her regaining her vision was slim. My little fighter regained her vision within only a few days of taking medication.

However, the time came when my baby could no longer fight. She had to continuously go to the doctor to get enemas, wasn’t eating, wasn’t drinking, couldn’t jump to her favorite spots, and for the first time ever she didn’t sleep with me nor greet me when I woke up.

I had prepared myself for this day for many years, nut nothing can prepare you enough. She finally lost her life-long fight against CRF. It felt surreal that I would have to return home without the love of my life. The hardest part of this journey was leaving her there.

Time has made me realize that I haven’t lost her, and she hasn’t left me. She is all around me, and more importantly, she is in my heart.

I have all the amazing memories she gave me: letting me drag her around and chase her as a little girl, sleeping with me every night, dancing with her, singing to her, smelling her stinky breath, the way her fur smelled, the way her bell jingled, the many times her lack of nails made her slip off things, and even spending many painful, humorous hours trying to get a fishing pole off her leg.

She was my baby and I feel more than lucky that she chose me to be that one special person in her life that she loved unconditionally. Nothing can replace the love she gave me, her judgment-free heart, and her always-listening ears.

I will love her always. My last, truthful words to my angel: "Eu vou estar te esperando. Eu te amo. Deixe ser."