JUDY
After having Jacob in my life, I realized that I didn't want to live without cats. I desperately wanted to have one again. A coworker of my mother's had a cat who just had kittens. My mother told her that we would love to adopt one. I chose the white one. Before she was weaned, the white kitten became very ill and died. I was terribly disappointed and heartbroken. They said that they had a beautiful black one, but I didn't want her because I wanted a white cat. I finally realized that it wasn't possible to have a white cat (understanding does not always come easily to a child) and decided that I would love the little black one instead. I can't tell you how glad I am that I made that decision.
	Judy was absolutely beautiful! She was half Persian, which gave her soft, silky fur. She was petite, but she could be as mean as she needed to protect herself. She scared the neighborhood dogs on a regular basis. She loved attention and I was so happy to be able to pet her and cuddle with her.
We had planned to have her spayed before she had a litter of kittens, but it didn't work out that way. She ended up having two litters and we found good homes for them all. Her first litter brought us John and Jesse. John was the runt (under her back leg) and Jesse was the chubby one (in the middle).
	Judy was fiercely independent and taught me to respect that part of a cat's purrsonality. She loved sleeping in paper grocery bags and we always had one available for her. John and Judy got along well, although, she felt the need to give him correction on occasion. He would respond by waiting until she was asleep in her sack, walking up to it, hitting the closed end of the bag, and then running off. She would come out of the bag wondering what on earth had just happened.
Judy was diagnosed with Diabetes in 1984. At that time, little was known about caring for and treating diabetic cats. She would have required up to six insulin shots a day and nobody was certain how to stabilize a diabetic cat or if it could be done. We made the painful decision to send her to the Bridge.
At times, I have felt that we made the wrong decision about Judy, but now I realize that we made the correct one.. Since Judy's diagnosis, I have had more exposure to diabetes. John, while not a true diabetic, needed insulin shots near the end of his life. Punky and Taffy (two of the four who share my home today) are diabetic. I know that Judy would have suffered and I am glad that I didn't put her through that.
I miss you and love you, Judy. I hope that you have plenty of paper grocery bags.
Back To The Rainbow Bridge