Word-High July: Humaling

Please visit here to learn more about this 30-day challenge.

Another version of the word "fondness" is "soft spot". Our family has a definite soft spot for animals. Although I like dogs, too, my favorite typical household pet is a cat. I love kitties. They are cute, cuddly, and have a mind of their own. We have had many drag their claws across our hearts over the last 30+ years.

Most of the kitties that have made their home with us have been outside kitties. There have been occasions for us to bring inside this one or that one. We've had to bottle feed rejected babies on several occasions and rescued one from what appeared to be a catnapture. This last one was our beloved Xerxes.

Xerxes was born around 1 June 2014. We don't know the exact date, but he was here already when Davey left for the Marine Corps. We brought Xerxes inside to bottle feed and otherwise take care of. We were newly empty-nesters and he was our new baby, our transition to this new life of home with no live-in kids. We made lots of plans for our old age including our new little baby. Those plans were not meant to be.

On 23 September 2015, our precious Xerxes was diagnosed with feline leukemia. He was given a transfusion (and was not at all happy about anything that vet visit entailed!). We did what we could to make him comfortable and keep him alive. He got better for a time, but then relapsed. We took him back to the vet and were told that they could give him another transfusion, but even with it, he likely wouldn't live beyond two more weeks. We opted out of that transfusion and prayed that Heavenly Father would heal our little Babykins.

We were afraid that he would be alone when his time came, so if we had to go anywhere, we took him with us. We didn't leave the house if we could avoid it.

On 19 October 2015, after a very difficult time and intense pain, in David's arms and me stroking his head, our little Xerxes entered Rainbow Bridge to be with his other brothers and sisters and kitty cousins. It was one of the most difficult days we've had in a very long time.

 It was this kitty especially that brought a fondness for cats to my husband and it was this kitty that took our hearts with him. There will always be a Xerxes-shaped hole in our hearts that belongs to him.









Please be sure to read David's post over at Random Thoughts and Observations.

Also, please be sure to visit our hostess Rosema at Word-High July.

Disclaimer: These Filipino word images are from an article by Isabelle Laureta on BuzzFeed titled “36 Of The Most Beautiful Words In The Philippine Language”. All credit goes to them.