A little easier....

A little easier, but still hard. I slept OK last night, and was able to look at pictures last night without crying. I'll start posting them here.

It's difficult also because Cosmo and Moo are, well, so cat-like. We haven't bonded, and their main concern is getting fed. Neither sleeps on our bed with any regularity, or if they do, for any long periods of time. They don't greet us at the door, they don't miss us when we return after a long time, they don't ask for people food, they don't respond to being whistled at or follow people around - all of which Marla did.

I tried tracking down the girl from whom I got Marla from. I found an e-mail address that might be it, and sent a note asking if she was the same Marla from Lakewood and if she remembered me, nothing more.

I also sent a note to Dr. Briggs, Marla's vet most of the time, telling her of her passing and that I donated some of Marla's favorite foods - a case of 24 cans - to Ocean Co. Vet Hospital, which also has a boarding facility.

Three Marla stories from the vet:

Marla apparently didn't want to be there one year, and started running off the exam table. "Look, Doc. Marla feeling absolutely fine, nothing wrong. In fact, Marla can run real fast. Watch!" Without breaking off talking to me, or looking down, the vet caught Marla just as she was about to jump off the table. That was one surprised cat....

One of the last times I went the vet realized Marla was getting up in years and started palpitating her front paws. Never had I seen such an indignant look on her face. "Marla is not a dancing bear from the circus, put the cat down!"

Dr. Briggs returned from giving Marla's stool sample to the tech to be analyzed. He greeted Marla with, "OK, Marla, you're poo sample is spinning around now at 45 RPM," or whatever the speed of those machines are. I think Marla just rolled her eyes at him....