R.I.P. Boo

It started so sweetly one night back in October of 2002 when Mark and I were sitting on the couch watching TV. He turned to me with wide eyes, "I heard a kitten". He went outside but didn't see anything so came back inside and decided he was hearing things.

The next night the same thing happened but this time we both heard a soft little "mew". He opened the door and we saw her run off and couldn't convince her to come out.

The third night, we yet again heard the mewing but this time when we went outside, this little bundle of fur was finally coaxed into our hands. She was so tiny, maybe 5wks old, covered in fleas and obviously starving. We brought her in, washed her, fed her, and fell in love. We knew we couldn't keep her but then Jonathan (18mos at the time) woke up and called her "mine". I told him "No honey, she's going to need another home, we already have kitties" and he replied in that toddler voice "nooooooooooo....MINE!"

What could we say to that? She grew on us so quickly it was meant to be. She and Jonathan grew up together and were frequently seen together just curled up somewhere. It was precious.

She got out before we could get her fixed back in March of 2005 and returned almost 1½mos later. We had been traumatized by her leaving and were overjoyed with her return but she had yet another surprise for us. 2 months later, on July 5, she gave birth to her first litter of kittens between 12:30a-2a in my bed, under the covers, at my feet. Being newly pregnant myself, I couldn't be upset with her for anything other than the fact that she hadnt' let us know so we could be with her during that time. The kittens were beautiful and although we lost one (the runt) the rest grew wonderfully being very well loved by the boys. Padme, the only calico of the bunch, became Matthew's cat and stayed after we found homes for the other two. She was a wonderful mother to all her babies to the point where Morticia eventually had to move outside as Boo would not permit her near the precious kittens.

During the excitement of my own pregnancy, I forgot to make an appointment for her at the vets and she got out again in January 2006. She was only gone a few days this time but sure enough, she had managed to come back pregnant again. On March 11, 2006, exactly one month after Nico was born, Boo gave birth to 2 beautiful girls, Lizzie and Leia.

We don't know what happened but in early September of this year Boo once again seemed struck with wanderlust. We had gotten her spayed so we knew she wasn't in heat and we could only hope she would be back soon. Unfortunately, that was not to be this time. We never gave up looking for her and hoping she would return home to us soon. It turns out, she had never gone far but instead had realized she was sick and instead of letting us know in anyway, she had left to die. She found a comfy spot under our house and went to sleep, never to wake again and that's where Mark found her this morning.

Needless to say, we are devastated. She was such a sweetie and Jonathan is brokenhearted at the loss of his cat. She was buried today under the one remaining rose bush in the backyard with many tears. She will live on in our hearts, especially as we care for her daughters.

Good-bye Boo. We'll miss you.