My husband's aunt was 86 years old at the time. She was known in her small Oregon town as the "cat lady." If you had a cat you did not want to be responsible for drop it off at her place. She fed over 27 cats and kittens daily. They all lived outside except her pet cat and this tiny little kitten, she named Pebbles. She fed these strays morning and evening seven days a week, while living on a small fixed income.
Pebbles was dear to her. When my husband's aunt went to the hospital, never to return home again, she asked us to rescue as many kittens as we could and find them good homes giving them an opportunity at having a good life. We managed to catch 3 feral kittens, along with Pebbles and brought them all home. The remaining cats and kittens at his aunt's house were all captured and killed. We were heart broken to hear this was done.
Our goal was to get these four sick kittens healthy and find them homes. That goal in part happened but the home they got was ours. Pebbles was very ill with parasites. We gave her medicine along with all the kittens, as these parasites were transferable. She was in quarantine. I put a stuffed toy in the room with her. It was Mike from the movie Monsters Inc. Mike was almost as big as she was. Every day I moved it and every night she dragged that stuffed toy into bed with her and slept up against it. After a month of many Vet visits, shots, medication and a couple of good baths, Pebbles was freed from her quarantine. I remember the day we let her out of her quarantine she marched down the hallway like she owned the place. She was a small cat, that never weighed over 8lbs. She was always bony, but the Vet assured me she was just right, weight wise. Pebbles was the smallest cat in our herd of eight cats,(at that time). Our biggest cat is Oreo. He weighs in at 22lbs, but not considered over weight.
Pebbles was a determined cat. She knew her mind and her wants. She hated dry food and only ate wet food, but not any old wet food. We went through many brands finding the wet food she liked. She demanded her food in the morning, would like it at noon and again at night. She did not get her wish. As I always pointed out, there was plenty of dry food. I would catch her eating dry food now and again.
Pebbles started out in Oregon, then moved in with us in Seattle and moved again with us to Texas. She was a loving cat in her own way. She had a routine for the first six months of living with us. She would jump up on my lap in the afternoon and curl up and go to sleep. She would do this each day. She would sleep for a couple of hours or until my legs went numb from not moving. After the six months, she no longer needed that companionship, except when she was in the mood.
Pebbles was furiously independent and would take on any cat, if she needed to. Thankfully that was not necessary. She loved to sit in the windows and soak up the sunshine. She would greet me in the morning demanding her breakfast and remind me in the evening that it was her dinner time. She taught the others to do the same.
Pebble fell ill Friday evening. I took her to the vet on Saturday and after extensive tests the only thing they knew was she could not regenerate her red cells. The "cause" was unknown. Without being invasive with surgery, we tried some medications that would help her. Sadly, she only got weaker and stopped eating last night. This morning she and I sat curled up together in front of the fireplace warming ourselves and reminiscing about her life and saying our goodbyes. I let her go around noon today. She was 9 or 10 years old. We are not sure of her exact birth date, but figured her closer to10 years old.
She is laid to rest along side Molly our rescued Lab, Tommie our first rescued cat in Texas, Scamp the brother of Oreo and Winkin chicken.
Here are two pictures I have of Pebbles. She is the black cat in the photo. The other cat is Vinnie. He is our oldest rescue.
Good night Pebbles. I will miss you every day.
Wh.at a loving tribute! The pictures are precious
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