To the cat that had a purr the size of Texas
To the cat that would always find a way under the covers
To the cat that would hug and kiss the dogs
To the cat that made the flower garden that much more beautiful when she was in it
To the cat that talked and talked and talked
To the cat with the chameleon eyes
To the cat who always found an available lap
To the cat who shared my yogurt
To the cat that made me smile
To the cat that made me feel like I was special
To the cat that was not with us long enough

I am sorry I did not know you were in trouble
I hope your short life with us was rich and wonderful
I hope you are at peace
I miss you and feel empty inside
IN MEMORY OF ZIPPER
July 2003-October 2004

"If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans."
-Jamer Herriot

nice tribute, zipper sounds like she was very cool

Hi Martina:

Thank you very, very much for sharing your tribute for your beloved, Zipper....

It sounds to me that even though you and your precious Zipper had not even one year together......
From what you wrote.......

It really sounds like the both of you shared a whole lifetime of LOVE, for you have so many beautiful memories.

I've always said that memories are such a gift..........They can never, ever be taken away.....
They're yours to keep.....
In that, I do find a lot of peace & comfort....

I do see that your furkitty Zipper has not been gone from your life for very long......

Please Martina, if you want to talk to some very wonderful and wise people, (who, without their help after our sweet girl was put sleep...........I often wonder 'where I would be'....),
please do post a note about the loss of your beloved, sweet Zipper, in the "Death and Dying" forum at LS...

I know that you will receive many, many replies from all of those same people who helped me, and as well, from many new people who have joined Lightning-Strike, because of a recent loss of their own.

To me...............Lightning-Strike is like "Magic"!!!!
I will forever be extremely grateful.

Quoting you..........

Although you do feel empty inside and you miss your sweet Zipper............
Those are the "normal feelings" that you will be experiencing right now....
I remember that pain clearly, as if it were yesterday....

But, inasmuch as you feel that way.............please know in your heart that sweet Zipper IS AT PEACE!!!!!
After our beautiful furkids time on earth is done...........they all go to a place called, "Rainbow's Bridge ----- Our "kids"
are all playing together.........Running through the fields - carefree.....
They are not lonely...........I picture a BEAUTIFUL PLACE with plush green valleys, lovely streams of water and beautiful flowers ----
where our furkids run along side one another, chasing beautifully colored butterflies, and catching them on their noses..
(Just thinking of that.........brightens my day.....)P

Up at Rainbow's Bridge........their bodies are perfect once again .......

No more pain.........no more suffering.... Whatever they suffered from here on Earth, whether it be illness or old age..... Their little bodies are all wonderful!!!

The thought that our sweet girl, Ernestine, is no longer in pain.....she's not suffering.....That comforts me soooooooo very, very much!!!!!!

And, after we have lived a full life here on earth. and it is our turn to pass over to the Other Side..............We willl then be reunited with all of our precious "furchildren" that have gone on before us, where we will all walk into eternity together.......

As Kathy (a poster here), says, "Our furkids are in a place now where they are in complete and total bliss---and, when we are reunited with them..............for them, it will just seem as though (not even) a day as passed

After Ernestine was put to sleep, nothing in this world made sense to me...........Nothing at all!!! But, a wonderfully kind poster wrote this one sentence to me that has meant EVERYTHING TO ME............
It was the only thing that made sense to me.........And, to this day, I keep repeating it, and sharing it with others, because I really believe it will help....

After Ernestine, our sweet girl was put to sleep............she said to me,

"Denise, You took on Ernestine's pain, SO THAT SHE COULD BE WITHOUT PAIN".

Just one sentence, but really, to me IT MEANT EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD....... I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD!!!

To have my sweet girl be without pain........it is something that I would do again in a heartbeat for her, as she was suffering so!!!

Thank you for sharing all that you did, Martina.....

I wish you much peace, and I am sending many healing thoughts and prayers your way...

God Bless you, my new friend....

Love, Denise

MD and Denise,

Thank you for reading my tribute. I posted it in the Death and Sying Support forum. Thank you for the suggestion and for caring. She was a great little cat and it is hard. She is the second cat I have had that has gone missing and it is hard. We live remote (12 miles outside of town on a ranch.....a town of 250 people...closest grocery store 1 hour-KMart -3hours). We have lots of wildlife, including coyotes. Unfortunately I think that is what grabbed her, that or a mountain lion. I found a small patch of disturbed ground 100' from the front door with a few pieces of her furr. Last nigh the coyotes were right outside the door. This is the life my husband and I choose. We knew there is always the possibility of us or our animals coming into conflict with the wildlife and it has happened before. I lost my dear best friend Jake at 2 years of age in July 2002. He was bit by a rattlesnake and the poison ran through his body. He and Beau (other dog) were out galavanting. Once again I feel guilt because we have the animals live here with us. I keep trying to remind myself that there is no guarantee no matter where they live. All our pets are rescues, so even though Jake and Bug and Zipper had short lives, they had full lives with us. They had freedom and walks and fresh air and room to roam. They had summer nights in the garden and winter nights in front of the fire (or under the covers in Zippers case!). Why do I feel so guilty...why do I keep questiong what I could have done different to keep this from happening again. In general the cats come in at night. I still can't believ that she wasn't inside by the fire Sunday night with the rest of us. Anyhow. Thanks for the support. I will probably rant somemore at the other forum. I think the people I work with think I am crazy beacuse I love these animals so much. They are our kids! I will post some pics of Zipper in the coming days. I am going to need to keep grieving for a while.