One year ago today.....

she who came before me crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Meowm says it happened very suddenly and she was extremely sad. This morning I climbed up on my big bed that I share with her and laid down. Meowm says I was laying in the very same spot that China would after Meowm would get up in the mornings. I know Meowm still misses her very much....sometimes she still cries. Here is what Meowm wrote after China passed:

I don’t remember the exact day or year China came to take over my home….I think it was May of 2002. What I do remember is that it was a Saturday…..and she made about an hours journey with her family that was giving her up to get to me. I don’t know exactly why they no longer wanted her. They told me it was because their daughters boyfriend was allergic to her. I say get rid of the boyfriend…and later I learned that they didn’t really like him anyway. Whatever the reason……I am glad she came to me. I had never seen her….I worked with Neil and he asked me if I knew anyone who wanted a cat. I didn’t know of anyone, but asked some questions. What kind of cat was she, was she fixed. He wasn’t sure, but he thought she was Siamese and yes she had been fixed. So I thought about it for a few hours and told him that I was thinking of taking her. Two days later I knew I would take her. So plans were made. I was going to be gone on vacation, so they kept her till I came back. I got up that morning and was anxiously awaiting her arrival. Soon the knock came and I got my first look at her. She was, of course, gorgeous. She was also scared. She didn’t like the trip at all. I took her from Neil’s wife and she immediately crawled up on my shoulder, all 15 pounds of her. I let her hang out there a bit, then Neils’ wife peeled her off me and set her on the floor. She promptly ran and hid under the bed. Neil and his wife left with promises of coming back with food. They had already brought the litter box, liners and litter. I assured them it was not necessary, but they insisted. Off they went and I was torn between waiting for China to come out or going and getting her out. Well, I wandered over, hunkered down and peered at her and called her name. She wasn’t moving. Probably thirty minutes later another knock on the door and in comes Neil with a large bag of food, large bag of litter and a cat dish. I felt like it was Christmas! About an hour later I couldn’t’ stand it anymore….back to the bed I went. I laid down and called China, she didn’t budge. So I kinda scratched the carpet and called her…..this got her attention. I kept doing this and finally she crawled close enough that I could pet her. Oh she loved this! I kept petting and she would call a little closer….finally I was able to pull her out. We sat on the couch and I pet her for awhile then she got up and went exploring.It wasn’t long before she settled in. And it wasn’t two weeks after she came to me that a kitty quilt from Grandmeowmy arrived in the mail. The quilt went on China’s favorite place---the back of the overstuffed chair---and she loved that! It was wonderful to be sitting in that chair, playing on my computer and to feel China’s warm soft body behind me. One time I came home from getting my hair done, sat down to doodle on the computer and the next thing I know China is sniffing at my hair and then grooming me. I had to chuckle….couldn’t blame her..that hair color isn’t the nicest smelling stuff! China loved the sun shining in the glass sliding door. Many mornings she would curl up and sun herself. On mornings when I was chilly I would join her there. What a picture that would have been! Both of us flopped out on the floor in the sun! One night I left the bedroom window open. I lived in an apartment complex on the bottom floor, which was actually in the ground. My bedroom window was at ground level. Well I am peacefully sleeping and suddenly awakened by the unmistakable sound of a yowling cat. Seems an outside cat had dared to come up to the window. If China could have gotten to that cat fur would have flown. Needless to say, the bedroom window stayed closed after that. However, the sliding glass door would be open from time to time and she enjoyed the outdoors that way. She could see some of the birds flying around and enjoyed listening to them. One Saturday I remember laying down for a nap and China joined me. I was laying on my side with my out horizontally and China came over, laid down and lay her head on my arm. We napped just like that. I wish I had a picture of that one! When I decided to move, she had a great time checking out the boxes, and as they stacked up she enjoyed sitting on top of them and surveying her domain. I bought a cat carrier and opened it up at home so she could get used to it. Moving day came and she was all to happy to crawl into her carrier, but she meowed the entire way to the new house. We got settled into the new house and China found new places to perch. This place had wide windowsills that she could sit in. And there were no other cats around but she sure enjoyed just sitting in the windows sniffing the air, listening and watching the birds. It was in this place that I purchased the window seat for her. I couldn’t bear the thought that she wouldn’t have any sun to lie in. This became her new favorite spot. She also got a bed on the dryer. She liked this spot as it was a bit higher than her other perches and she cold actually look down on me when I was sleeping. She would curl up on the dryer at night and watch me till I put away the book I was reading. Then she was on the bed quicker than a flash, purring and waiting for her petting. China never warmed up much to men. I know that Neil didn’t like her and I think he scared her. I wasn’t happy with him about this….but as she stayed with me she got a bit more used to men. She wouldn’t wander up to them and headbutt them like she did women, but she got to where she was not quite as scared. It was especially nice having China with me when I had surgery in November of 2005. She had taken to sleeping with me on the bed long before this surgery, but it was wonderful to have her there while I was recovering. This was also one of the only times she wanted to be a lap cat. I won’t go into the night she died…. I miss her tons! She loved to be petted and would roll over on her back for tummy rubs. I miss this too along with her instant purr and her soft fur, and more things than I can possible write about. She died on the night of December 6, 2005. It is a night I will never forget, just as I will never forget her. I am glad she is at the bridge waiting for me…..I can’t imagine life after death without her, I just wish I could have had her with me longer here on earth. I miss you little girl and look forward to being able to see you and snuggle you again!