It will be very tempting for many of us to sink into the blues this holiday, and start feeling sorry for ourselves because of the losses we have experienced...

Please keep this in mind over the holidays: WE UNDERSTAND - nobody on this board is really alone - we share a bond and a love that transcends mortality. Our little ones aren't gone, they are waiting for us to rejoin them. Our loss is not any greater than it was earlier this year and although it may seem unbearable at times keep in mind that after the holidays things will seem better.

I don't really know what is going to happen after I pass on to the afterlife - but I feel completely confident that my little ones will be there, waiting for me to pick them up and spend an eternity wrapped up in a big furry purr.

But until then, we are not alone. We have each other. And we have a host of little angels crowding around us, fanning our face with their wings when it's warm and curling up on our pillows when it's cold.

Thanks, DJ.

I am not one of those lucky blessed people who gets to feel, sense, dream or see their loved ones out of the corner of their eye. But last night Saki was in the bedroom with me. I was tired, but not anywhere near asleep yet. She knocked something over, then got on the bed. I could feel her on my legs. Probably shouldn't've, but I actually had to sit up to see... of course, I couldn't see her. She was there, nonetheless....

Love to all,
Jennifer

It's funny - I have never had a dream of my guys. Or felt them without TRYING to bring them to me in my imagination. I had a dream that Jesse was slipping off a wagon we were riding through a forest and I couldn't save him. That was a week before he died.

But Oscar shows the strangest similarities to the two of them. Maybe I'm projecting onto him, but sometimes I could swear that Jesse and Edgar are there, and that Oscar is letting them say hello...

Anyone who feels their little ones visiting is truly blessed. But I'm patient enough to wait - I'll be with them one day and nothing will keep us apart then.

I have been lucky enough to dream of my little guy ... I have felt him with me (even if it was only in my mind) and for awhile I could hear him throughout the house (again probably only in my mind but maybe not). The holidays are tough for me even without this latest loss. I'm having a hard time imagining Christmas without my little guy but life does go on and I know that someday we will be together again where nothing can separate us. I live for that day ... but also for each of the days to come with my new little ones who have brought joy back into my house.

I too keep seeing things in little Basil that remind me so much of Snoops. Maybe I too am projecting ... I don't know. I feel closer to Basil than to Rosie. This could be because Basil is a boy and so was Snoops or maybe because Basil has so many of the traits that my little boy had ... don't know. But I do know that both Rosie and Basil are loved and wanted. They have brought life and joy back into my home and I think Snoops would have wanted that.

I hope everyone here has good holiday season and that they are able to find some peace and joy.

hugs,
Beth

Right after Gracie passed, my boyfriend had a dream about her. I was so jealous that she came to him because everyone knew (including him) that she loved me best. That night as I got into bed, I looked at the picture of her that sits by the bed and I told her that she could feel free to visit me in my dreams. That night, I dreamt about her - she was healthy and going about her business like nothing (especially the leukemia) had ever happened. It was probably the most special thing that she's ever done for me....

I'm definitely feeling the holiday blues, though. We have two new kitties now - we rescued two girls from a shelter so at least there's two less kitties who will wake up lonely on Christmas morning. And they both have a little bit of Gracie in them, but they're definitely their own cats. Which is good - I'd hate myself if I felt like I was just trying to replace her. But for some reason, the holidays are making me miss Gracie so much more. I don't understand why. She hated Christmas. All that noise from wrapping paper, and the bags, and the presents taking over her favorite spots - she hated that! Despite that, I always filled up her stocking with toys and treats and opened it all for her. I'll do the same for Phoebe and Luna once I find stockings for them. They'll appreciate the chaos of the wrapping paper...one more thing to play with.

And on Christmas morning, I'll probably take a minute with Gracie's ashes to wish her a merry Christmas and tell her again that I wish things could've ended differently. But I'm so glad that her little body is rejuvenated at the Bridge....

This has been a very helpfull site for me as having Misty just pass just before Christmas has been the hardest, trying to be happy for the kids when inside I ache... I'm so glad to read of your experiences as I had a few with Misty but wasn't sure about posting them so here goes and to tell you I hold on to these with everything...

The night before Misty was killed I picked her up outside as the cats are inside at night and I cuddled her like I always did and said to her that it would be a very sad day when she left us and gave her a kiss and told her I loved her, for some reason I really did get a chance to say goodbye even though at the time I didn't know I was....The afternoon of the day she died I was bringing one of our other cats in for the night and Misty Meowed at me, I know think it was her either saying goodbye or telling me she is with me and not to worry....

I still go out the back and say goodnight to her in the hope that she answers me but if she doesn't it doesn't matter because I know she can hear me...

I have also asked her not to leave me just yet I want to know she is near me, and I know that she watches over me and will visit me many times....

To you all have a wonderful and safe christmas and special love and hugs to all of our departed friends (family).....

I posted that about Saki's visit, then the next day, we found some blood in Electra's urine. So I took her to the vet and the prognosis is not good (Lec is 15, FIV, and has lost another another pound this month from 4.5 to 3.5.... I've been posting about this elsewhere).

But since then I have wondered if Saki has come back to take Lec to the bridge.

They had the funniest relationship. They were not biological sisters, but they were definitely sisters. They had a love-rivalry thing going on all those years.They loved each other when we were not around, but they competed for our attentions. Saki was soooo much bigger than lec, that she could just displace lec just by pushing lec out of the way with her big body. At the same time, Lec has always been the queen, and if she spat at Saki, Saki would submit.

Another funny thing. Saki loved to snuggle and loved especially to lay in my lap under blankets. Lec has NEVER been a snuggler, but whenever Saki would be under the blankets on my lap, Lec would always make sure to come and stand on Saki. This was not a big deal the last year of Saki's life as Lec was so small, but when she weighed 8 lbs and such and would stand on Saki's head. Saki would whine under the blanket and I'd tell lec what a bitch she was..

After Saki and Freyja died, for weeks Electra ran through the house making this noise she had never made before. She'd hold her head up high in the air and make this gurgling yowl. She was calling for them, searching for them.... It broke my heart. I wished I had let her see Saki after Saki passed (she died in my arms at home during a nap... she had liver cancer; she had a pts appt for the next day), but hindsight is 20-20....

Lec stopped howling once we got Hathor...

Hathor is acting funny too. She'd be a great therapy dog. We got her 6 weeks after Frey passed, which was a bit soon for me. But then one day this fall, I got the flu, and my normally rambunctious and energetic puppy was calm the whole time I was sick. She guarded me. It was so strange. She stayed by my side the whole time, and watched over me. It really helped me to bond to her.

Now, with Lec... Hathor has desperately wanted to be friends with my 15 year old crabby cat since the day we got Hathor. Lec will have none of it. She spits at Hathor and whacks her. Hathor still wants to be her friend. She carries all of her toys to lec and drops them at the bottom of wherever Lec is perched. Hathor cries and wags her tail and rolls over on her back. Lec just glares at her.

But this week, Hathor has been totally different with her. Instead of trying to play with her, Hathor guards Lec like she did me when I had the flu. And she intently (and calmly) watches all of my interactions with Lec, like she's thinking "You better not mess with my cat..."