February 14, 2008It has been two years since Romeo died. I still can't believe that he is gone. He was so much a part of my life. Romeo was truly a "Mamma's Boy" and he loved cuddling with me.
I miss you very much, Romeo. I miss you sleeping under the sheets, on my chest every night. I miss you taking such good care of your sister Juliet. (You know, it took her 18 months to go outside on her own without you - Juliet misses you too.) I miss your sweetness and protectiveness. You were very patient with me when I was learning to take care of you. There is so much that I miss about you - I just can't begin to express it.
Rest In Peace my darling Romeo. Wait for me with your sister Tiffany.
Love and kisses always,
Your Mamma. xxxLetter to my Romeo:
You were such a sweet cat, Romeo. You and Juliet came to me when you were just 6 weeks old. I hadn't planned on getting two kittens, but when I saw how cute and mischievous you were, I couldn't resist getting you as well as Juliet. As it turned out, it was an excellent decision to take both of you because you grew up together and both became beautiful, loving and gentle cats.
It was always very difficult, almost impossible to take good photos of you. Your fur was so dark and shiny - your beauty was not always evident in photos. You were a cat that had to be appreciated in person.
You loved your sister Juliet, and you spent most of your time cuddling with her, and grooming her. Occasionally you would annoy her and she would hiss at you. Within a few minutes though, you would be friends again.
You were always a Mamma's Boy - you were truly my cat. Every day, even in summer, you had to cuddle with me in bed. You would cuddle beside me with my arm around you. During the winter months you would prefer to sleep under the covers with me, either on my chest or beside me. You were always such a lovely, cuddly kitty.
Thank you for the wonderful years, Romeo. Twelve years was not enough - I wish you could have stayed for another twelve years.
You were my sweet Mamma's Boy, and I miss you terribly. Rest in Peace my darling boy, I'll love you always.
Love and kisses,
Your Mamma. xxxxRomeo's favourite foods:
- Canned cat food. ANY type! As soon as he heard any can opening he would come running. Even if I was opening a can of tuna or baked beans for myself, Romeo would be at my feet asking for some.
- Raw meat. Whenever I was in the kitchen preparing meat for cooking, he would be meowing and circling my feet. I always gave him some of the best cuts.
- Whipped cream. When Tiffy started taking Lysine, I would mix it up with whipped cream from a can. Romeo always wanted some too so he would get some everyday when Tiffy had her Lysine.
- MacDonald's Fries. For some reason, Romeo loved to eat Macca's fries. No other fries, mind you, just the Macca's fries.
Romeo's favourite sleeping spots:
- On my chest, under the covers. Romeo would walk up to me in bed and claw at the blankets. I would lift the blankets a little to let him in. He would then lie on his side and snore away, peacefully sleeping for hours. This was his favorite spot in winter.
- Cuddling with me on the bed, at my side, with my arm around him, as he would lean his head on my shoulder.
- On my bedside table. No matter what I had placed on it, Romeo would curl up on top of it. He especially liked it when the bedside lamp was on because it would generate heat.
- In the dish drainer. I have no idea why he loved this so much. It seemed impossibly uncomfortable. Nevertheless, Romeo would curl up every night in the [empty] dish drainer and sleep. I always had to wash it before I used it again.
- The kitty cube in the lounge room. Romeo loved to sleep in the kitty cube with his sister, Juliet. They would sleep in there for hours.
- Any sofa! Romeo loved to sleep on the sofa. Sometimes he would be practically upside-down, with his little pink tongue hanging out.
- Most of all, Romeo loved to sleep with his sister and littermate, Juliet.
Things Romeo loved to do:
- Above all, Romeo loved, absolutely adored to be brushed. It was his most favorite thing in the whole world. He would head-butt the brush and push his face as hard as he could against it, all the while purring. After a while he would start to drool. It was like he would go into a trance. It was an amazing thing to see.
- Romeo loved to go outside and check the garden every day. He loved the outdoors, but would never catch birds. In fact, birds would walk right past him and he would take no notice. I was very proud of him for this.
- Romeo loved to sit on my lap or on my desk and watch me at the computer. I composed most of the catpage with Romeo on my lap.
- Romeo loved to sit at the kitchen window at night, behind the blind, and watch the outside. Often I would walk into the kitchen and be startled by his black tail hanging down below the blind.
- Romeo loved to sit on the kitchen bench. At first I tried to train him to stay off, but eventually I realised that he loved it up there, so I let him stay.
- Romeo loved to drink water out of the dishes in the sink. I guess the water tasted better with a bit of flavour.
- Romeo loved to explore new places. Whenever I moved house, or took him to a cattery, Romeo would adjust very quickly to his new surroundings.
This photo of Romeo being brushed was taken on his last day with us. Even though he was very ill he could still muster enough strength to enjoy being brushed. Cute things that Romeo did:
- Romeo was a black cat, but he grew one, just one white whisker on the right side of his face. It was too cute to see him sporting 25 black and 1 white whiskers.
- Romeo loved to sit in strange places. The kitchen bench, the dish drainer. He would sit in baskets or squeeze into shoe boxes and small cat beds. When he was a kitten he liked to sit in the rubbish bin!
- Whenever we got a new car, Romeo would climb up and sit on top of it. It felt like he was giving the car good vibes. We always thought that we were safe because Romeo had sat on it.
- Romeo loved people. Whenever we had visitors, Romeo would be first to say hello and cuddle with them. He would even cuddle with people who didn't appreciate cats!
- Romeo always came when he was called. Not only by me, but by other people too.
- Romeo loved to sit in the bathtub while we were having a shower. That way he could drink up the leftover water when we were finished. Often his coat would be covered with droplets of water from the shower.
- In the bedroom we have a framed picture on the wall, hanging just above the tallboy. To get attention, Romeo would jump up onto the tallboy and try to knock the picture down. We thought he may just not like that particular picture so we changed it, but he kept at it. He would grab hold of the picture and swing it from side to side. When we would say "Romeo, stop that!" he would look at us with a look on his face as if to say "I didn't do anything".
- Romeo would *insist* that I wake up at 4:30AM each morning to play with him. He would use his paw to tap me on my cheek until I start to stir. Then I would cover my face with the sheet. This wouldn't deter him; he would proceed to claw at the sheet, trying to uncover me. Eventually I would get up and feed him, then stagger back to bed, closing the door firmly behind me.
- Romeo always wanted to come inside through the kitchen window. No matter how many times I called him from the back door which was one metre away, he wouldn't come inside. Then he would sit in front of the window, which opens outwards, so that I could open it slowly as he walked backwards out of the way onto the ledge, then he would walk in casually.
Stories about Romeo:
Romeo was always very protective and he could be fierce if he had to. In 2003 a woman was walking her large, beige, Labrador dog past our house. She didn't have the dog on a lead. The dog saw Romeo and proceeded to enter our front yard to chase him. Romeo was cornered, but he did have an escape route into the backyard. Instead, Romeo stood his ground and hissed at the dog. The dog wouldn't leave. In the meantime, I had run outside into the front yard and was telling the woman to remove her dog from my property. Suddenly, Romeo lunged at the dog and wrapped all his four paws around the dogs head. The dog fell to the ground, whining. The woman started yelling at me "Your cat is attacking my dog!" I said, no way, your dog chased and cornered my cat so he is just protecting himself. Eventually Romeo let go of the dog and the woman took him and left. I haven't seen the woman or dog since that day.
*****
In May 1998 I had to go into hospital for an operation. Everything went alright and I was allowed to go home two days later. My kitties were very happy to see me when I got home -- they had missed me and I them.
During my two week convalescence, my kitties Romeo and Juliet became particularly smoochy and spent almost all day every day sleeping with me in bed. Romeo slept on my tummy, whilst Juliet's preferred sleeping place was curved next to my side with my arm around her. Both cats sleep under the covers and purr almost continuously. Occasionally, when they feel especially good they might drool a little, but never enough for me to be concerned.
One week into my recovery, I noticed that Romeo spent a lot more time in bed with me than he usually does. I also noticed that he was drooling a lot. Not just two or three drops -- I mean POOLS of drool! By the third day his condition did not improve so I promptly took him to the vet.
The vet checked his teeth, gums, and asked about Romeo's general well-being. As I conveyed to him, Romeo had not lost his appetite and was not exhibiting any signs of discomfort. The vet was puzzled because he could not see any reason for Romeo's excessive drooling. He did say that the condition was probably brought on by some kind of allergy, and that I should keep Romeo inside for several days to try to ascertain if it's something outside that is causing the allergy. He also explained that it could be something inside, but that we could only work this out by using the process of elimination.
I was just about to leave when it occurred to me that Romeo was drooling a lot more whenever he was cuddling me. I explained this to the vet and he advised me that the drooling could be the result of me changing my brand of deodorant, soap, or perfume. I had not changed any of these things. In fact, since the operation I was unable to use deodorant or perfume at all! I told the vet that the only thing different was that I'd had an operation 10 days earlier.
The vet instantly recognised that this was the reason why Romeo was drooling excessively. You see, when cats are wounded their instinct is to lick the wound and apply saliva to it in order to cleanse the area and promote healing. With his acute feline senses my darling kitty was aware that I was wounded so he was spending more time with me and drooling to help me heal. What a sweetie ... my Romeo was looking after me ....
*****
January 4, 2000. Most nights, when I've been on the computer waaaaaay too long, Romeo will come and sit beside me, staring at me intently, waiting for cuddles. After I pick him up and cuddle and smooch with him for a while, he'll walk across the desk in front of the monitor, and then sit beside the keyboard on my left. He tried the right-hand side but that doesn't work for either of us because every time I need to use the mouse I have to reach beneath a big, furry, warm belly. So, he curls up on some papers on my left. It's as if he's thinking: "Yes, I know you have work to do, so I'll just lay right here where you can reach me and pet me every now and then while you're working..." So as I'm typing this, every few words I reach my left hand across and stroke him. And of course occasionally I have to reach over and give him a kiss on the top of his head. So sweet...
*****
August 12, 1998. Today Romeo spent several hours outside, which is very unusual for him. He usually stays out for 1 maybe 1½ hours at the most.
Anyway, I let him inside (though had to dry him first with a towel because it's raining here in Melbourne and the fur on Romeo's back was so wet that it caused a "part" down the middle of his back! Hahaha!).
After he groomed himself he settled down on the bed for a nice relaxing nap. Body stretched out and paws all over the place and tail dangling down off the side of the bed. I came into the bedroom to "admire" him (without disturbing His Royal Highness of course) and he sensed that I was in the room.
Purr. Groan. Stretch. STRETCH. Open eyes. Shut eyes. Stretch. STRETCH.
Then the sound: THUMP! -- and the sound of paws frantically clawing at the bedspread. Silly kitty had fallen off the bed! Romeo turned to look at me, his lower body on the floor, two front paws still hanging off the bedspread. Then he gave me "The Look". Now you ALL know that look --- "I MEANT to do that! "
*****
October 19, 2000. I've been sitting here today updating my catpage, and I suddenly realised that I've now got more than 1000 html pages on my catpage! Woohoo! And all the while I have been sitting here at my desk, hours and hours of reading the newsgroups and working on my page, most of the time I've had a cat on my lap. My Romeo is a very affectionate kitty, and he can't bear to let me sit alone at my desk, in case I get lonely you see. Juliet on the other hand, graces me with her presence from time to time, and sometimes forgets herself and gives me *extreme* smooches, just to let me know that she can't be outdone by Romeo I guess.
*****
February 4, 2000. My Romeo brought me home a present this morning. I had just got up out of bed and I let him and Juliet outside for a play. About 15 minutes later I heard Romeo meowing, well, sort of "wailing" rather than meowing. I thought he was hurt so I ran to see what was going on. Romeo wasn't hurt at all, he was calling me to come see what he had brought home for me. On the kitchen floor he had deposited a huge bug, with a body at least 1" long and 0.5" wide. The bug was black, and still alive. It was making a funny kind of hissing noise from its exoskeleton. Romeo hadn't killed it, he just wanted to bring it home as a gift to his mommy. How cute!!! I thanked him profusely and he was so proud, purring wildly and headbutting me. I sat there for a while, admiring the bug and telling Romeo that he is a wonderful hunter to have captured such a prize. A few minutes later I took the bug outside to let it loose, but Romeo had other ideas. He wanted to play with it!! so he started to bat it around the backyard. Thankfully, the bug got away once it was outside, in its element.
Letter to Romeo:
Darling beautiful cat,
I didn't know you, but I felt that I did, because of all the wonderful stories your Meowmies always told about you, and I always knew what you looked like from all the lovely photos that your Meowmies posted on the website. Your sleek and fluffy black fur, your regal head and smooth black nosey, that incredible yummy belly!! The way you always acted like a little kitty, so playful, so happy and free!
Do you know how very much you will be missed little boy? Your Juliet will miss you most of course, but oh your poor dear Meowmies! You brought so much joy to their lives, darling boy! I'm sure you KNOW this.
We all look forward to our meeting again at Rainbow Bridge, I never met you darling Romeo, but because I love your Meowmies, in my heart I feel their loss and it is also mine and I cannot stop the tears that continuously flow from my eyes as I write this note to you.
Wait for us all, my big beautiful boy. We will all be together again one day! Along with all the other wonderful furbabies that came before you, dear Romeo, tell them how we love them and miss them and look forward to our reunion. Thank you for being such a wonderful part of everyone's life. We were SO Very lucky to have had you!
Always, Kara
A Story entitled: "Silly Humans"
"Juliet, why are our meowmies crying?"
"Because they can't see you any more, silly Romeo"
"What do you mean? I am right here. I *know* I am right here. How can I not be here if I am talking to you?"
"Silly Romeo. I can see you because I am a cat. But our hoomins can't see you because their eyes don't work the way ours do"
"But they could see me before"
"Sure the could, but they only see in three dimensions, not like us cats. They can't see you anymore, and they cry, because they miss you so much."
"But I'm right *here* Juliet."
"Well, something happened to you. You got aweful sick, and they took you to TED. And the part of you that they see died."
"Oh! *That* explains why I saw Sailor again. Gee he looked good, his coat was so full and shiney, and his eyes bright. He looked *really* great, well, for a d*g that is. And there was this big shiney brightly coloured bridge, too. And lots of other cats to play with, and I felt *really* good there, like I was a kitten again. You'd like it there, Juliet, you really would."
"I'm sure I'd *love* Rainbow Bridge, Romeo, but that would mean that the meowmies wouldn't be able to see me any more either. I've got to stay here and let them know you are around, and that you still love them as much as ever, even if they can't see you."
"Will they ever see me again, Juliet? I don't want our meowmies to cry for me when I'm still with them like always."
"One day they'll be able to see you again. They'll make their own way to Rainbow Bridge, and it will be just like how it was before, except better. They'll be able to feel us and touch us and hug and and scritch us and our brofurs and sisfurs all together and we'll all be healthy and happy. It will be a wonderful reunion."
"I can't wait."
"You won't have to Romeo, time passes differently now that you aren't in the hoomin's dimension, and you won't have to wait for them long at all. But it might seem a long time to them."
"That's not fair, Juliet. Why do the meowmies have to wait so long to see me again when I can always see them?"
"I don't know, Romeo, but as long as there is One Who Can See Properly, whether that be me, or Chloe, or Tiffy or Jetson, or maybe even some future kitty that adopts them, as long as there is one of us to let them know we'll always be around them to love them and look after them, they'll be able to wait until its their turn."
"But they're still crying, Juliet."
"Silly hoomins."
"Yeah, but you gotta love 'em"
"Yeah. Silly us."
In loving memory of Romeo.
Yowie
CLICK HERE to see more pictures of Romeo
CLICK HERE to see pictures of Romeo & Juliet cuddling together
CLICK HERE to send an email to Flippy & Mia
CLICK HERE to make a donation to the catpage - In Memory of Romeo and Tiffany
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