Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Sniffles the pirate kitty


You may perhaps remember my one-eyed cat, Sniffles. Last year, I ran a contest to name the pirate kitty for the book I'm currently writing, The Raven Saint. Angela Robinson won that contest with the name Spyglass. You'll have a chance to meet Spyglass when The Raven Saint releases in January 2010.
Sniffles is now 19 years old. (which is 92 in people years!) She seemed to be having trouble with her mouth lately, so I took her to the Vet last Saturday, thinking that maybe her gums were infected. Well, it turns out that the cancer that took her eye has now returned to claim her mouth.

My family was very upset to hear this news. Sniffles has been a part of our family for so long, it will seem so empty without her. Let me tell you about this great cat. Last month, she went completely blind (in her other eye) and completely deaf. We thought about putting her down then, but after a few days of bumping into furniture and walls, she has been able to find her way to her cat box and to her food and water dish, and then back to her heating pad. Without a single accident!

On Saturday, the doctor wanted to put her down immediately, but I know my Sniffles. She wasn't ready yet, so we brought her home and she's been eating and purring and finding her way to her cat box just fine. Her resilience, courage, and joy in the midst of pain astound me. I wish more people could be like my Sniffles.

Regardless, I know her time is short. At the first sign of pain or inability to eat, I'll release her to my Heavenly Father and she can join the brood of beloved pets waiting for me in Heaven.

10 comments:

  1. this was a great post! poor sniffles...i pray you and your family will be ready for whatever comes your way. {'=

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so sorry to hear about Sniffles. She sounds like an amazing cat. ((hugs)) to you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm sorry Sniffles isn't doing so well! It sounds like she has had a wonderful life with you and your family!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I pray that Sniffles will do well right up until its time for her to go and may it in her own time!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have to echo the above comment...I pray that Sniffles does well until God decides to take her to heaven, and that she will go peacefully in her own time. Sounds like a lovely cat!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh! I'm so sorry for all of you! I'll be praying that she goes down nice and peaceful when the time comes, and that God'll help you and your family.

    ~Honey

    ReplyDelete
  7. Praying for you and Sniffles

    ~Sasafras

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am a cat lover who celebrates Sniffles' life along with you, MaryLu. Animals amaze me at how they are able to triumph over adversity.

    And I do think that we will be reunited with our beloved pets in heaven. Randy Alcorn, in his book entitled Heaven, wrote an excellent chapter on pets which deals with that topic. Thanks for sharing Sniffles with us.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks so much everyone for your kind comments, prayers, hugs, and comfort! Believe it or not Sniffles is still hanging in there. She's not moving too much, but my husband and I decided that as long as she's eating and purring, we're not going to put her down. And I too believe our pets will be in heaven. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sniffles sounds like a real sweetheart. What courage she has! So glad she is still purring for you. I have three cat and three dog friends waiting for me, I hope. Miss them all so much.

    ReplyDelete