Sept.17 2011,

Today I had to end the life of one of my cats.

First time doing this for me. It was hard.

Dharma was born in Apr./May 1999 to a cat being housed in a no-kill shelter.Lack of room at the shelter and the brood was being fostered by my parents neighbor,Maureen. I already had a cat, Skully, but was looking for a companion for her. The litter was all black cats,all of whom were playing together,except for one.She was off by herself,exploring,oblivious to going-ons around her. I knew this little odd-ball was the one for me.

I took her home.

Skully was not too pleased I was bringing another cat into the house,and showed her displeasure by hissing,spitting and taking whacks at the little head of her new roommate. Skully then went into hiding for 3 days.

Once Skully realized this little kitten was not the end of the world, she accepted her into the household.

As Dharma grew it was obvious she was a small size cat,probably half the size of Skully. I always wondered if it was the small size that lead her to be more prone to catching colds {two} and for being quite gaseous during her younger years.

Skully and Dharma were both yard cats.My little fenced in front yard was perfect for the two of them to frolic safely in.One day while they were out,Dharma decided to teach her older sister how to climb the tree in the front yard.As I turned around ,there was the two of them,half way up the tree.

Dharma was a very peaceful cat. Never hissed, spit, growled and got along with both of the neighbors very large dogs.

Dharma was a lap cat. Loved to curl up in my lap while I was at the computer,or while i was watching TV,always ending up curled up against my chest. Dharma always slept with me.

Dharma was quite vocal for a cat.She loved to sit at the foot of the kitchen and talk to me while I was in the kitchen.I would answer her and the conversation would go on for awhile

Dharma loved some of my "Human" food. She loved scallops. I would order them from the local Chinese food restaurant and she would wait for me to break up several for her to eat.For a small cat she had a big appetite for scallops! She also loved Lean Pork and Roast chicken,but wouldn't touch Turkey.

Back in June {2011} Dharma started having these vomiting episodes, where she would throw up 3 times a session,expelling the contents of her stomach ,undigested food and bile. This started happening every couple of days,so the vet was called in. Seems the initial diagnosis was an over-active Thyroid and medication was prescribed {Tapizol}. The vomiting appeared to lessen a little but not entirely. I noticed in the past week she wasn't eating or having bowel movements.She was also losing weight to point of being bony and was not her usual self.Another call to Vet and he recommended stopping the meds,hopefully she'd regain her appetite. That was not to be ,as the next day i noticed that Jaundice had set in.I took her to the Emergency Vet only to learn what I had suspected, she was a very sick cat. The Vet thought she had a very large tumor and the best thing was to put her to sleep as she was more than likely suffering.

It was not easy making that decision with Dharma huddled in my lap..........

For a black cat,she led a charmed and pampered life,which I was happy to provide.

She's at peace and pain-free now,leaving me with a big hole in my heart.

Love you,Miss you.