Somehow Related: The Rainbow Bridge ~ Saying Goodbye to Furry Family Members

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2022: Week 42 (LOST)

We said goodbye to Simba last week.

She turned 19 on August 27th, and passed away on October 12th.

Simba, just a few weeks before she died

She was predeceased by her sister Frodo, on May 28th 2017, three months short of her 14th birthday.

Frodo, just a few weeks before she died

Right until they died they were referenced as the kittens.

It didn't matter how old they were they would always be THE KITTENS.

In late 2001 my husband got a fulltime position with the ambulance service in Vancouver. We were unsure about moving to the Vancouver area. We decided to rent out our house in Grand Forks, and rent in the lower mainland to see if the job and city were for our family.

In summer 2003 we realized the job was definitely what my husband needed, and our family needed to stay together so we started making long-term plans.

We began by giving notice to our tenant . While we waited for the tenant to move out we stayed in a family member's place in nearby Christina Lake.

Around the middle of September the boys and I went to the general store in the plaza to pick up some supplies. When we entered the store we noticed staff of the store holding 2 tiny kittens.

We heard these tiny kittens had been abandoned in a Proctor-Silex coffee pot box in the laundromat. They were found in the morning by the person opening the laundromat hearing their cries. It was realized that they were left alone in the box overnight. The person closing the night before never noticed the box or heard the kitten cries. No one was sure how long they had been in the box in the laundromat.

Given how small they were they were lucky to have survived that long without any food or water.

It's a sad world we live in that that folks just dumped these adorable little kittens.

The staff at the store asked the boys if they wanted to give these 2 tiny kittens a home.

The boys were hooked.

I was out-numbered.

Plus they were so cute.

That night when I called my husband I started the conversation with "You know when you are out of town I will have to make some executive decisions on my own".

There was a pause before he asked "What have you done?".

I told him the story about the kittens at the store ending with "their names are Simba and Frodo".

He realized it was too late - they had names.

Simba was named by our 6 year old because she looked so much like Simba in the Lion King.

Frodo was named by our almost 10 year old because she had furry toes.

The Vet told us he thought they were about 3 weeks old.

This was why they were not able to eat the food we had purchased for them.

Back to the store for kitten milk, and they began to thrive.

They were too young to have left their mother.

I had suggested that we should put a poster up on the Post Office's Community Board letting whoever had abandoned them know they received a good home.

My husband said 'Not a chance. Let them suffer knowing they abandoned those kittens to certain death.'

Those kittens lived a long life.

Frodo was almost 14 years old when she died peacefully at home wrapped in a blanket, held by me, several hours after having a stroke.

Simba lived 2 months past her 19th birthday. She suffered some sort of neurological event, and was held by my husband on her final visit to the vet. I was not able to join them because I was in covid isolation.

When the kittens arrived to our home we had an almost 5 year old Manx cross that hated both kittens on sight. He never did warm to Simba, but Frodo became his buddy.

She was loved by all the furry friends she met.

Frodo had long white hair.

It was a lot of work to keep herself groomed so she was grateful for the assistance of Oliver who passed away 3 months after Frodo.

Frodo wasn't sure why she was loved by dogs.

I'm pretty sure they thought she was a sheep.

They herded her, and she complied by doing what they wanted her to do.

She was a good natured cat.

A dog and her cat ... Or Is that a cat a her dog?

Simba wasn't as tolerant of the dogs, but even she was their friend.

Siska really wishes Simba would leave so she could lay down but she's patient.
Simba thinks a cat on the hearth is a happy home

No longer having a canine friend Tori begins wooing the cat.
Wonder how long it will take to wear Simba down?

Simba was so small she could sit fully in the palm of our hand when she first arrived. She stayed pretty small her whole life. Her fur was super soft - she was known as the Velveteen Kitty!

It wasn't until she needed some help grooming as a senior that we discovered her hair was short, but had the texture of a longhaired cat.

Her legendary leaping skills of her younger years is likely why she was a good jumper into her senior years even after developing arthritis and going blind.