Etta, Lilo and Goldie - Early March.
With the passage of Lilo last month, that brought the total to six we we have lost in 30 years. Two dogs and four cats. We have a storage cabinet where the cremains have been kept; in the basement, out of sight... out of mind. We decided that since this has become our "Forever Home", it seemed appropriate that we honor those who entered and departed our lives. In the very back corner of our lot, I created a memorial garden.
Statue and plaque
It began with the statuary I found at a nursery in Little Compton RI. As soon as I saw it, I knew that was going to be the key. Found a nice piece of blue stone to use as the marker, had the plaque made out of bronze, and attached the name tags below then planted some catnip in the garden for guests to enjoy. I finished the garden this morning. We will inter their remains at a future date.
And now, there are two; Etta and Goldie.
Their bench is directly below the mini-split, still in "heat" mode.
Where Lilo always kept her distance from Etta, these two have become "thick as thieves"; great energy between them. Just SO much play! Batting, wrestling, racing each other to every corner of the house. No hissing or growling, just play. Goldie has become the quintessential house cat; Etta loves her yard. When she comes in, he races to greet her, and they walk the rest of the way in, together. If he's (usually sleeping) on the couch, she comes in to check in on him before going onto something else
Snores and passes gas...
Goldie's bed is where ever he feels like passing out. The above is his normal position...
Etta making her rounds
Etta has assumed the role of "Yard Inspector", and goes on patrol several times a day; never for more than a few minutes. She has also begun visiting with the neighbors when they are out working in their yard below ours.
In recent weeks, when we turn in for the night, both of them come up to the bedroom; Etta has her chair, Goldie takes up station on the foot of the bed (to which we hear his 20 pounds sliding off and hitting floor at some point during the night, then he moves to the rug).
There was a little anxiety from Etta right after Lilo left. Though they were not "communal", they were never more than ten feet from each other at any one time ever since they were kittens. In the week after Lilo passed, Etta would be looking for her to come in the door or up from the basement, and she would stay distant from us. But in the past week or so, her disposition has changed dramatically! Back to being VERY social and chatty; better yet, she even has a healthy appetite! Even with Goldie vying for lap time with me (he wants to be HELD... all 20 pounds of him), she's getting her nightly tummy time in.
So all in all...
We are well!
Onward,
Rade
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