Over the Rainbow Bridge

My 18 year old cat, Ramona, went over the Rainbow Bridge on Thursday evening.  She had been failing for a long time;  every day was a struggle for her.  It was time.  But none of that makes it any easier.

I've always loved animals and Ramona was my first real pet as a "grown up".  I remember going with a coworker to pick a kitten from her friend's cat's litter and just falling in love.  That night, my friend Liz came over and we laid on my living room rug playing with this little black and white ball of fur, trying to pick the perfect name for her.  We decided it should be literary...and ended up with Ramona of Beezus and Ramona fame.  It suit her perfectly.  

As a little kitten, she'd take a flying leap and hang from my patio screen.  She'd run around my small apartment at full speed, up and over furniture, onto the windowsills and around again.  In her quieter moments, she'd lay on my chest and purr her little heart out.  She would always lick my hand when I pet her and when I didn't wake up in a timely fashion, she'd tap me on the cheek with her paw.  She loved her mama and her mama loved her.

She was with me the majority of my adult life.  She saw boyfriends and friends come and go, and the addition of two other kittens to our home.  She moved with me four times, the most recent to our current home five and  a half hours away from everything we had ever known.  I worried so much about moving the other two but not Ramona.  I knew she would just settle in for the ride, content in knowing that I would take good care of her. And I did as I tried my best to her whole life.  As she got older, we struggled through years of twice daily insulin injections (which I never thought I'd be able to do but I had to) and then twice daily medication for thyroid problems.  There were a few times when I thought I'd lose her but she always fought through.  She was a trooper, through and through, until the very end.  

To say I am sad would be an understatement.  It's so hard to say goodbye.  I posted the pictures above on Facebook on Thursday evening and one comment stood out to me:  it simply said, "I'm sorry you lost your friend."  That's it in a nutshell.   

You are missed, sweet girl.  I love you. And I'll see you on the other side.