Yesterday is one of those days that all pet owners dread. The visit to the vet for a beloved pet, only they don’t go home.

Sadly that was yesterday for my boy, Boo. He had been a part of the family for 16 1/2 years.

Boo was one of three kittens all from the same litter that Mr Lonetester and I adopted. Part-moggie, part-persian, they were kittens of a ‘friendly stray’ at my parents house, and I’m pleased to say that we gave them all a wonderful home.

Having got Boo and his siblings at just under 4 weeks old, we got to watch them grow from teeny-tiny bouncy kittens into big fluffballs.

Saying goodbye is never an easy decision to make, but we know it was the right one as it wouldn’t have been an easy life for him going forwards. Although not himself for the past week, having lost weight and quite weak, he was still smoochy, and purring until the end … and he is now over the rainbow bridge with his sister Zap, who left us last year. 

We are a fur-kid family, and just like kids, each one has their own likes and dislikes and personality. Boo has always been a Mummy’s boy, so I’m missing him like crazy. He’s simply not there – on the bed – where he always is. It really was his favourite place. He’s not there to ‘talk’ on the phone when I’m talking, and he’s not there to be first to the food. He was our chatty boy, and you could have a whole conversation with him, and he liked me to take him for a walk, which was me holding him over my shoulder and walking up and down the hallway.

There’s a 100 little things that I could mention about him … but instead I’ll just share some pictures of him.

Boo, not quite 2 months old

Boo with his bother and sister, age 2 months

Boo and Toffee at age 3 months

The three of them slept together for quite some time

he’s a big boy at age 3

one of my favourite pics of him, age about 7

Toffee curled up with his brother Boo. This was their last moment together

Goodbye Boo, you will never be forgotten

Today is one of those days that all pet owners dread. The one-way visit to the vets for a beloved pet.

Sadly today was Zap’s day.

Zap has been a part of the family for about 16  years. She and her two brothers (all from the same litter) were the part-moggie, part-persian kittens of a ‘friendly stray’ at my parents house, and I’m pleased to say that Mr Lonetester and I gave them all a great home.

Having got Zap and her brothers (we couldn’t choose, so picked all three), at just under 4 weeks old, we got to watch them grow from teeny-tiny bouncy kittens into big fluffballs.

Saying last goodbye’s is never a easy decision to make, but we know it was the right one as she wasn’t well. And after purring till the end, she left peacefully, and is now over the rainbow bridge with Gizmo and Mickey. 

We are a fur-family and do have other cats in our household, but as all cat lovers will know, every cat has it’s very own personality, so the fact that Zap isn’t there, isn’t simply replaced by those that are. She’d taken to sleeping in a particular windowsill, and now it’s empty. It’s going take a while to look at that windowsill again without tears welling up.

Here’s a few pics of her I’d like to share and remember her by …

Zap, a few months old

Zap with her brothers at the back

Zap and baby brother Toffee

nom time

bed time!

such a pretty face

photo at the vets today

bye bye Zap

While I have generally used this blog to talk about my family history and genealogy, today I’d like to take a moment to remember Gizmo. He was one of my cats, but he was not just ‘a cat’, he was a member of my family. Giz was just a few months old when he joined us, and has been there everyday since for the past 12 years.

Yesterday started with trip to the vet for Giz, and it ended with Mr Lonetester and I having to make the decision that all pet owner’s dread. While I know we made the right call, sadly it did result in Gizmo, also known as the world’s friendliest cat no longer being with us.