I am the daughter of RoseMarie and Harry. I lived in a trailer park many years ago that had alot of stray cats around. At the time I lived there I was feeding 9 of them. A mother cat (really just a kitten herself) named Tabasco had just had a litter of kittens. As soon as they were 6 weeks old their “owners” (and I use the word loosely) threw them outside. Their skin was terrible and I thought it was fleas so started treating them at once. As fate would have it, we had to move out of the park.
I got my mother to take the 2 kittens and prayed that the others would be ok. She named them Smokey and the Bandit after the movie I’m sure you’ve all seen…she just loved Burt Reynold’s! Anyway, Smokey’s skin disease turned out not to be fleas at all, but a serious skin disease that both he and Bandit would need to be treated for all of their lives.
Smokey was given many injections of cortisone and it eventually killed him. We even tried taking him to Cornell, but it was too late to save him. Bandit’s condition was never as bad, although it did pop up every once in a while. After the loss of Smokey mom did NOT want another cat. A few years later a stray showed up at their house, she was limping and only weighed 2 pounds.
They kept her of course and named her Peanut. She and Bandit hit it off and spent many happy times together. My mother was recently diagnosed with a stage 4 brain tumor. It was operated on successfully but somehow in the meantime Bandit got very sick. He lost his appetite, lost weight, his fur lost all it’s luster.
I’m sorry to say that he was somewhat neglected during this time because my mom was so sick…but I did make a vet appointment for him. Of course the news was not good…he was in full renal failure. Mom was devastate as was I. We had had this cat for almost 14 years and now when mom was so sick he was dying.
Mom and I have had the discussion that perhaps Bandit gave his life for hers. I know that as mom regained strength, Bandit lost it. When mom came home, Bandit went in. She went to the vet to hold him while they put him to sleep. I had urged her to do this, even though she was still recovering from surgery. She has told me many times since that day how grateful that she went. She was able to say goodbye, hold him, tell him she loved him…and then he slipped quietly away. We wait to meet him, Smokey and all our four legged friends in Heaven.
I know they are waiting at the Rainbow Bridge, and I pray to God each day that they remember us, and more importantly that they forgive us.
After all…we love them.
All the stars in the sky wink for you...
| Bandit |
| RoseMarie & Harry |