We buried our beautiful Maine Coon today:(

[tricia keegan]

Georgie has been missing for six weeks, we tried everything to find him..newspaper adverts, leaflet posting of the area and homes and his insurance even paid for a pet detective!
We finally had a call from an elderly Gentleman who said he found a dead cat in his garden three weeks ago and if we wanted to check we could.
Hubby of course had this job, and as we feared George had been hit by a car the day he went missing and crawled into this garden
It was'nt pleasant but hubby brought him home to me and buried him beside his brother leo in the garden.
I'm heartbroken and can't believe I won't see him again.
It's been such a stressful time with my MRI next Tuesday as follow up for a suspicious bone scan so all in all I feel drained:(
Just felt the need to share my sadness with friends who understand today. I know many of you are going through far more serious issue's right now but sometimes it just feels like we 're given more to handle all at once than we can bear:(
If anyone has had a clear MRI after a suspicious bone scan please let me know, I know this is possible and just hoping I get lucky this time with arthritis or simple old age!!! xx

[Lien]

Oh, Tricia, I'm so sorry. Pets are like family members and I know the anguish of a pet gone missing. It's just so sad that he hasn't come back alive. He must have had a wonderful life with you, because it's obvious you loved him dearly.

About the MRI: there's a good chance the suspicious area is something harmless.

I'm sending waves of calmness from the Netherlands Europe. The gather strength during the journey so they should be quite strong by the time they reach you.

Hugs

Jacqueline

[tricia keegan]

Thank you Jacqueline,

I have other cats but Georgie was very special to me and with me all through my chemo and radiation and cheered me during this time to help me through..

I'll miss him very much, thanks too for your good wishes on the MRI. I'm hoping for the best but the way my luck is running lately..expecting the worst!

Thanks again xx

[BonnieR]

Please don't minimize the impact this had on you. I think we all can empathize and understand such a loss. The animal companions who gave us comfort in dark times have a special place in our hearts.
Keep the faith.

[Ellie F]

Sorry to hear about your lovely cat.I have a lovely moggy to who helps me through the bad days. Keeping my fingers tightly crossed for a good result from your MRI. have you already had a bone scan?
Ellie

[tricia keegan]

Thanks Bonnie, I know many of us appreciated our pets more during our cancer treatments as I did:)

Ellie, I had a bone scan and one suspicious area showed on the thoraic so the Dr wants to follow up with an mri just in case.
Thanks:)

[Bill]

Trish, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your cat. Our pets are part of our family. I had a Maine Coon for years. They are wonderful animals.

[tricia keegan]

Thanks Bill, he was gorgous and very special but loved to escape from our garden into the outdoor's no matter how big a fence we built!
He deserved better than the end he got, and I can't understand how anyone can hit an animal and just keep driving without stopping:(

[yankeebikachic]

I am so sorry for your loss, I love my pets like family too. But you know what? I thought of two good things for you to focus on. One is you found him, imagine how terrible that would be to not know where he was etc. And two, you have wonderful memories of him. When I lose a pet, I always try to remind myself of how lucky I was to have them in my life. Think of how different things would be if you never had George in your family. To me, that is a greater loss. Hang in there, and remember the joy he brought you.
Beth

[hutchibk]

Awww, Tricia, I am so deeply sorry. My kitties have always been my angels. I also have a Maine Coon and he is our child. We love our furry purry angels and they add so much to our lives. My heart goes out to you, cats make our hearts soar and losing them is an ache that is hard to cure.

[Laurel]

Tricia, as a serious "crazy old cat lady" I understand fully your heavy sadness. My Maine Coon is my baby and the favorite of all my furry kitty children. People are always trying to give me their cats. I have 6 at present, 4 inside kitties, and 2 outside girls. All have been adopted, or dumped at my doorstep, but we do not mind at all. One stray adopted us and ate with the two outside cats, not my choice but they were outside cats before they came to live with us. We named him Mittens and gradually as the years passed he became more and more trusting. One day this past autumn Mittens sat within a foot of me, and I thought soon I would actually be able to perhaps stroke him. That was in the afternoon when he had stopped in for his supper. Later that evening someone struck him as he was crossing the road. We found him dead by the mailbox. I gathered him up and took him to my family's farm around the corner. We have a pet cemetery there replete with a carved (resin, actually) headstone. There I buried dear Mittens as he was "ours," not just a stray. It has been weeks, but I still find myself casting glances at his favorite spots to sun himself. Only in death did I ever touch him.

I am truly so very sorry you lost your darling cat. Believe me when I say my heart breaks for you. I know they are animals, but pets have blessed me with such joy and comfort that I cannot imagine my home without them. The black cat sitting on my printer in my signature is Molly the Marauder. We found her as a tiny kitten covered in fleas and maggot eggs. The vet said she would probably die that first night, but we took her home with us so she would not die alone. In the morning there was Molly clinging to the top of the box we had placed her in for the night! We had to continue to give her medicine for a terrible sinus infection that left her partially blind, and with a permanent head tilt. Today she struts around wrecking havoc wherever she can thoroughly enjoying her life sometimes at the expense of her fellow kitty-housemates' peace and serenity! I use her in my signature because she defied the odds to live and thrive.

I am believing your back issue is due to osteoporosis from the A.I.s, and that a bisphosphonate will fix you up in a few months. Please let us know your results as soon as you are able. Keeping you in my prayers.

[Bill]

I'll never forget when I first met Morgan, Nikki's Maine Coon.
Nikki: This is Morgan, my cat
Me: Wow, that's a big cat
Nikki: Yeah, he's a Maine Coon
Me: (my mind going off in it's own direction) Raccoon?
Nikki: No, "Maine Coon"
Me: Raccoon? (me, picturing a mating between a cat and a raccoon back in the 1700's or something)
Nikki: No, you dummy, Maine Coon, not raccoon.
Me: So....he's part raccoon? He sorta looks like one.
Nikki: NO! It's a breed of cat.
Me: Oh, I get it now, they bred with raccoons and then we domesticated them at some point.
Nikki: No, it's a cat!
Me: I know! But one descended from raccoons, right?
Nikki: NO! Forget about about the raccoon part!
Me: Ok, ok, but are they from Maine?

[tricia keegan]

Thank you ladies! It seems like many of us have share a love of these beautiful cats!

Laurel, I'll never read your posts again without thinking of your story and thinking of Molly the marauder lol....I have a Molly too who's a rescue feral cat and only comes to me but know one else in the family. We have another Maine Coon who is totally unlike George and has no wish to see the big wide world, one crazy asian and three rescue moggies:)

Brenda,I hope your own Maine Coon brings you many more years of joy as George has to us:)

Yankeebicachic, you're right also and George brought much happiness and joy to us! The not knowing these past six weeks were the worst. I've walked every day for three hour's approx posting leaflets and searching the neighbourhood. I pounced on one cat who had similar colouring and risked lymphedema when he scratched me badly too...thankfully his owner was nice about it:)
I'm glad we have answer's and have home and thank you all for your support:)

[tricia keegan]

Lol thanks Bill!!!! :) You're a howl:)

These cats are special as are all our furry friends of course.
I think the fact they're with us through cancer brings a closeness.....:)
It's amazing how animals can sense what we're going through and care so much for us too.
xx

[Ruth]

Tricia:
I am so sorry to read about Georgie. I love my 3 kitties and all of them helped me through cancer, treatment and a divorce. I feel for you and completely understand. We lost our beloved doggie Picasso in June to liver failure and life just isn't the same without him. The good news is we adopted 1 year old Sophie from animal control last week and she is a dream new doggie to spoil. Full of love to give.
Again, I am so sorry. People that have pets understand completely how it is to feel to lose one.
Hugs ~ Ruth

[BonnieR]

What's a "moggie"? I assume mixed breeds.

Our dog Porter has seen me through all of this. He was already a certified Therapy Dog so we just put him to work at my bedside too!

[Paty]

Tricia,

Sending you a big hug. I am sorry about your pet, I can immagine how much he meant to you, and let's pray tha there will be nothing serious in your bone scan. All my love,

Paty

[tricia keegan]

Thanks Paty, Ruth and Bonnie,

Yes Bonnie a "moggie" is a rescue mixed breed as we call them here:)

Ruth I'm also so sorry for your loss of Picasso, it's hard losing our furry friends for sure xx

[Joan M]

Tricia,

I'm sorry to hear about Georgie. He had a very good home. I've lost three cats, and it's so sad when our furry friends take wings. One of my cats lived to be 20 -- I was only 22 when she was born. I have one cat now.

Sending you a lot of hugs,

Joan

[alicem]

I'm so sorry that you lost Georgie. I have 2 adopted cats, Benjamin and Franklin, and I can't imagine losing either one of them. They both helped me through my cancer. Franklin especially would snuggle with me and never leave my side after my surgeries and my chemo. It was like he had a sixth sense and knew I needed some extra love.

I am hoping that you get good news from your MRI. I will be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers!

Love, Alice

[Jackie07]

Tricia,

Sorry about your loss. My 'Puppy' (a 5.5 lb poodle) passed away in her sleep just half year after my surgery for recurrence. I always believed that she was sent by God to accompany me through all my surgeries and job losses. It could be a sign for letting go of the past - especially if you get a good MRI report next week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[Sheila]

Tricia
So sorry to hear about Georgie...but at least there is some peace in knowing...doesnt make the loss any easier...keeping you in my prayers for a good report on the MRI....
Hugs to you!

[Karen Wheel]

Very cool stories of our other "kids" --- but I'm a cat fan too - don't have one now- as I had a huge tiger striped, named Max - in the US that I left with my dog with my close friend to live in the country at her horse farm (they both were raised together and I didn't want to separate them) and thought since my dog had problems with seisures and needed a indian herb to not have them - that getting her all the way to Italy would be too hard on her and shipping herbs here ---well, her "auntie Erin" said she would love to take them both. My big cat Max was so happy at the new place- I saw him every time I went home - 4 times now in the last 3 years - but Erin told me just about a month ago he never came home one night from one of his expeditions in the forrest - so we know he now a kitty angel --- I was so sad, even though hes not here in Italy - but you always feel it!

Hope your new tests come back fine. I just had my first MRI - (head and then torso) and they want to do another test of the liver - as there is something showing but they think (I HOPE!) its something in the film from the test - so I'm waiting now to hear from the doctors to get me in for another scan of just the liver --- they said not to be alarmed --- it was only for precaution ---so I'm trying not to worry!

So, let us know how it transpires....

Karen

[WomanofSteel]

Tricia I am sorry that you lost a part of your family. I am a fellow cat lover and I have ben in your shoes many times. It is hard to lose the little ones that give us so much unconditional love and comfort when we are ill. A big hug coming your way from NJ. Jacquie

[tricia keegan]

It's wonderful to read so many of your stories and know our fur babies help us all so much especially when dealing with this disease!
Thanks for sharing and for all your good thoughts and wishes.
It helps to believe Georgie is on the rainbow bridge and happy with his brother:)
Karen, how do we not worry lol!!! I can relate and will be keeping good thoughts for you too:)

[Vi Schorpp]

Tricia I'm so sorry about your loss. Yes, pets are every bit a part of our families. I lost my dog, Gizmo, this morning. He was a papillon, and just a doll baby. He would have been 16 years old in January, and this breed normally lives 12-16 years, so we were very lucky.
http://thm-a02.yimg.com/image/8e5780706372ba9c (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTb_r1P_hKDREBXzSJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBpY2Y5NXN iBHBvcwM2BHNlYwNzcgR2dGlkAw--/SIG=1fnrugge7/EXP=1257869685/**http%3A//images.search.yahoo.com/images/view%3Fback=http%253A%252F%252Fimages.search.yahoo .com%252Fsearch%252Fimages%253F_adv_prop%253Dimage %2526va%253Dpapillon%252Bdogs%2526fr%253Dmcsaoffbl ock%26w=300%26h=274%26imgurl=www.pedigreedpups.com %252Fimages%252FPapillon.jpg%26rurl=http%253A%252F %252Fwww.pedigreedpups.com%252FPapillon.html%26siz e=9k%26name=Papillon%2Bjpg%26p=papillon%2Bdogs%26o id=8e5780706372ba9c%26fr2=%26no=6%26tt=24766%26sig r=11ac2pmpc%26sigi=119bcpf39%26sigb=12tiq2jpf)

He shared a lot of history with us, and our home will never be the same. He was excellent with little ones and every age group. Very patient, not a yapper, and fiercely loyal to all of us.

Good luck on your bone scan.

[schoolteacher]

Tricia,

I am very sorry about your cat. I will say a pray for you Wednesday. Let us know as soon as you find something out about your results.

Amelia

[suzan w]

Tricia, I am so sorry to learn of the loss of your dear kittie. As a fellow pet lover ( and mother!!) I know I love my pets like children and loss is HUGE. I had a Maine Coon cat years ago and she was a special cat. Now I have 2 dogs and 3 cats...lots of fur and love. Good luck on your scan!!