Beautiful Memories of Mimi

This is another entry in my series “Attachments” about the things with which we develop attachments because they have some connection, however distant, with an animal companion we’ve lost, often associated with the time of their decline or loss. I’ve wanted to move this birdbath for a while and I’ll no longer see this reflection, so I’ll keep this memory.

I posted a portion of this video around this date in 2024, when Mimi was still with me. At 21 she’d really lost ground after we lost Mr. Sunshine at the beginning of March that year, the last of her kittens at age 16. She outlived them all and I’m it wasn’t easy for her to lose them all on a year though Mimi was made of strong kitty stuff.

But she recovered through March and April and by May she was back to one of her favorite activities, hopping up on the edge of the birdbath from the rocker on the porch and getting a drink. The rhododendron blooms reflecting in the water and on the bush were such a beautiful backdrop. Though I took photos of her in other years with the rhododendrons, it was the photos from May 2024, her last May with us, that were the most beautiful.

Now, two years later, the rhododendron is blooming again and I look out the window at the lovely scene without her. So I made another little video and added to the original, to remember.

Sometimes you know, in the moment, that this time in your life will never come again. I knew in this moment in 2024 that I will never have another cat like Mimi who does things like this, and all the other quietly amazing things she did, and be the quietly intuitive companion she was. So even then, I soaked that moment into my being to hold the next best thing, a memory.

 

Here is what I posted with the photos two years ago in May 2024:

I’ve been working on a balance of medications and treatments for her combination of osteoarthritis, mild chronic kidney disease, and really bad teeth that she just can’t have surgery to clean and/or remove. Each day I give her a tiny dose of gabapentin as pain reliever, subcutaneous fluids three times a week now with a small B12 injection for her mild chronic kidney disease, methimazole for hyperthyroid disease, and a little bit of Miralax in her overnight food to keep things moving. She spends her nights in the bathroom after her medications so she can sleep uninterrupted, get up and nibble whenever she wants, and there’s a litterbox and a water fountain in there all the time, very convenient for her to get a good night’s rest. After about a month of these her appetite is normal, she moves around well, and she may be a little drowsy in between her activities–Mimi was always more active than all the other cats–but she enjoys her days. 

More photos of Mimi at the birdbath in May 2024 because the rhododendron was blooming and the sun brought out so many colors. She has to visit the birdbath every time we are on the front porch. Whatever makes her happy. The scene was so beautiful I had to take more photos too so I decided to share them all.

Little visits

You never know where the messages will come from or how the visitor will appear to you. But they will. They love and care about you as they did in life and still want to be near you.

 

Thank you for following our grief journey after losing seven members of our feline family.

I hope sharing our experiences have helped you in some way, as sharing my experiences with you helps me.

Read more articles about Attachments related to the loss of a beloved animal companion.

Also read articles about Pet Loss and Pet Loss in the First Person, where I share my own experiences.

You can read all the articles related to their loss by tapping the images in the side bar and in articles.

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