Losing One's Identity with the Loss of a Famous Fur Kid

 


This past Sunday Momma Kat lost her beloved Bear Cat.

To those outside of the Anipal community, Bear was "just a cat." I'm blessed to be on the inside of that ridiculous notion. I know, like everyone reading this post, that Bear was more than just a cat. He was Katherine's everything. He changed her life, and gave her back her sense of well-being, just by being there for her.

For those who build their social media around one predominant fur kid, losing that kid knocks the breathe out of you. Katherine herself said how she now feels like she's lost her identity with Bear's passing. 

It's understandable. For me, I started building my social media around Herman TattleCat, never once contemplating what TattleCat would be once he passed. As he aged, tolerating camera intrusion less and less, I leave him be. And therefore, TattleCat's social media with 12,000+ has faded into a shell of what it once was.

Of course I have lots of cats to take his place, but NO ONE can ever take Herman's place. He is one of a kind. And so, with Herman in retirement, I struggle to find my voice. I knew the voice of Herman!!! (he never goes anywhere without his 3 exclamation points). Just like I know the voice of Dori and Rabbit (God help me). Herman has always been sweet and soft, as opposed to brash and unashamed of being naughty, and I miss posting current photos of him. And when his time comes, I will not announce it to the world. He is in retirement ... for good.

Losing Herman, like Katherine lost Bear, hits me in the heart unlike the other cats I've lost. Yes, there have been many before him who could have easily hit high social media numbers because they were truly awesome. But Herm is exceptional. Half Turkish Van, half Angora, his round head, round intelligent eyes, and tiny body reach deep into my soul and have never let go since the day I found him. We bonded instantly, like Love at First Sight. It's that connection, like an addiction, that makes losing him agonizing to even think about. And that's why I choose not to share his passing with the world. I will grieve in private. I cannot bear to see his name on a rock during the Tribute Rides, nor announced every year on his Angleversary. To me that's like ripping the scab off a horrific wound, Every. Single. Year. I'm told many people take comfort in the celebration of Angelversaries. I am not one of them.

It is my opinion that by sharing our fur kids with the World elevates them into another realm. They become 3D; larger than LIFE. I saw for myself the way people reacted when they met Herman at Blogpaws. I have a photo of women surrounding Herm in Mosey, his stroller. He even got mobbed in the hotel bathroom! Herm took the adoration of his fans in stride, sitting patiently while they took his photo, often posing with him. At his first Blogpaws in Vegas a group of Japanese tourists surrounded him, on their knees, excited to be taking pictures of "TattleCat," like he was Harrison Furred, David Meowie, Catrick Swayze, or The Cat Formerly Known as Purrince.


The fur kids have no idea what all the fuss is about, but their manager moms and dads sure do. So when we lose them, we do experience a particularly heartbreaking realization that it's all over. We all cried when Debbie lost her Katie, but luckily we had our love for Waffles who was ready to step forward. Cathrine had her B-Team when Bionic Basil passed. Jacqui lost Eric and Flynn, but turned her blog into a celebration of their lives.  I'm confidant in time Katherine will find her footing and do the same with Ellie. 

Herman's TattleCat account will soon undergo a change, featuring him in retirement, enjoying such recreations as lawn bowling, fishing, croquet and boating with his beloved wife, Belle. I have allowed Rabbit to successfully dominate Instagram with his notorious, unashamed naughtiness, and soon will bring him forward on Twitter to bump tails with the other Bad Boys of Twitter.


I asked Dori if she wanted to take over Herman's account with his high numbers, but she said she is satisfied to have a small group of close furends, and doesn't like the spotlight shining too brightly on her. I'm not surprised considering she spent her only Blogpaws appearance reporting LIVE from under the bed and behind the bath towels.

 

Since Herman went into retirement, I have struggled to find the spark I once had when blogging and tweeting. I cherish my memories of those fresh fun days when the Anipals were young and vibrant, and we had to deal with indecent spammers infiltrating our Twitter pawties. We set up Jail Accounts because we would tweet fast and furious, and Twitter would put us in Jail for an undetermined amount of time to cool us down, especially at charity fund raising pawties. At the Anipal Prom, Herman went to jail five times. He set a record that night. 

And the Anipal Weddings... Herman and Belle had the largest wedding party Dana Pixie ever made. The wedding and reception trended Number One on Twitter. 


Afterward, Dana recruited me to join the AWP helping her to make the scenes, which was an eye-opening experience. But that was yesterday, and living in the past ain't my thang.

My heart goes out to Katherine during these first days and weeks following Bear's passing. She in particular shared so much of herself through Bear. I got to hang out with Katherine in person at three Blogpaws, in fact stepping out of an elevator and directly into her arms! Always felt like I was reconnecting with a dear dear friend. I will never forget how she wanted to meet Dori so bad, but Dori was in seclusion until the very last day when I dragged her out for breakfast. Kat had just sat down to eat when I casually mentioned Dori was here. Kat said, "Screw breakfast," and ran to kneel beside my darling fraidy cat and fawn over her. 


I send Katherine, Ellie and The Boy my sincere condolences, and to Kat in particular my love and support while she searches to find her new voice. Her New Normal. It's necessary. We cannot survive living in the past. We are born to live, and born to die. And everything in between is a series of events meant to live and learn.


MOLD POISONING. IT'S DEADLY.


In 2012 I lost my beloved cats, Nicholas and Cookie, to severe mold in the air handlers of my home. Nicholas could not breathe through his nose, only his mouth. His face had swollen due to the severe amount of pus inside his head. I took him to several veterinarians, and none of them could figure out what was wrong. After he was euthanized on February 20, 2012, Cookie also came down with the mysterious illness. I took him to yet another vet. This time she opened his mouth and said we had mold in our home. The vibrant redness inside Cookie's mouth told her that. Regardless, it was too late and on on November 6, 2012, Cookie was euthanized. This is what Nicholas and Cookie looked like twelve months before mold entered our home and took their lives:

Once the veterinarian said MOLD I went into action by calling in a duct cleaning company to scour our air handlers and ducts. They also released live bacteria that would eat the mold. This was a very expensive process and it took all day for our home vents to be disinfected, but there was no choice.

It didn’t occur to me to have our home rechecked until the summer of 2015 when Dori and Peaches both came down with “colds from hell.” I too was suffering from the effect of mold. Turns out I’m highly allergic to it. In 2012 I was continually foggy-brained, and aching in every joint. I wanted to sleep all the time, which is highly unlike me.

The foggy-brained part is what kept me from recognizing my symptoms again in 2015. It took Dori giving an eerily familiar cough that reminded me of Cookie that had me running the girls to the vet, and calling in the same company as in 2012 to check my air handlers.

The mold was back, and this time it was Terminator Mold. It was back, it was badder, and hell bent on destroying everyone in the house. But instead of cleaning like they did in 2012, this time the crew was more investigative as to WHY we had mold. This time they discovered the duct tape around the mains had softened and pulled apart, allowing attic debris into the blowers (I always wondered why I had so damn much dust). They also found the seams were allowing cold air to seep out, creating dampness.

Mold thrives on Darkness, Warmth, Oxygen, and Moisture.

It appears we had won the Mold Lottery.

Mold in the ceiling air ducts.


Mold on the insulation wrapping the mains.


 Filters are changed every month. We thought they were dirty. We didn't realize the dirt was mold.


To destroy the mold, the company we called vacuumed every duct . It took hours -- all day in fact -- and was horrifically noisy. But it had to be done.


Every duct was also cleaned with a bleach solvent.

Then the mains had to be resealed using duct butter that hardened like plastic.


Despite the hot attic temperature, the duct butter will not melt and allow moisture into the ducts. We had two air handlers. In each a UV light was installed. Mold cannot grow under UV lighted conditions.


Thankfully, there was a Happy Ending. Peaches and Dori were saved.

Don't think mold can't happen to you. Mold is more rampant than I ever believed possible. Our home was 7 years old when we had mold in 2012. I read that mold is more prevalent in newer homes due to construction rush. Duct tape isn't good enough to seal your air handlers. Make sure its duct butter, and before you buy, have your home inspected.


The life you save could be your own.


 For more information, start with Mold Blogger.

Have you ever had mold in your home? Have you ever had your home inspected? 




Remembering HRMeownessWills, my Pwince Honeysmoochies





On January 2, 2016 my beloved Pwince Honeysmoochies - @HRMeownessWills - went Over the Rainbow Bridge. I didn't see it coming. I wish Wills had let me know that his sweet heart was giving out... But I guess sometimes things like that are very private. He didn't want to worry me. 
Wills was my Night in Shiny Armpurr. We met through our mew-tual furend @ArcherPaws. For our first date Wills escorted me to a wedding in Scotland.