Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day: Grief is Just Love With Nowhere to Go

Hola kitties! It's a happy/sad day for the Cat Blogosphere. It's Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day. Sad cos we remember the cats who came before and happy because we remember the cats who came before. We remember the good times and the laughs and love they brought into our homes, our hearts and our lives. I've already written about our angel cats in separate posts and all together. For this year's post, I'm remembering a Twitter pal we've never met in the fur. This post's title is a quote from one of his FB/IRL friends that I find fitting.

Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day was founded in 2015 by Deborah Barnes, award-winning author and blogger of Zee & Zoey’s Cat Chronicles in tribute to her Ragdoll cat, Mr. Jazz, who she had to say goodbye to on August 28, 2013. She shared the journey of letting him go in her critically acclaimed book, Purr Prints of the Heart – A Cat’s Tale of Life, Death, and Beyond and decided to create the day in his honor as a way for others across the world to share memories of their own pets they had loved and lost.

Herbie Cat (April 21, 2004 to March 23, 2020) was one of my first furrends on Twitter hunnerts of years ago. We never knew his last name; he was just Herbie. Herba from the Burba. He was such fun to hang with. Herbie was handsome, fun as I mentioned and came from the streets just like myself. He had seven fur sibs and you can see two of them photobombing him above. Of course, his "fluffiness" served food while I spun tunes at the pawpawties. Once I joined FB, his human used to photoshop avatars for each season and holiday. We knew that when Snowman Herbie went up after Franken-Herbie and Turkey Herbie came down, we were in for a lot of snow.

Herba had severe pancreatitis at the end and just couldn't recover. After he made his final journey, he led his grieving peeps to meet Hervie, a cat who survived Calicivirus as a kitten which ate away most of the cartilage and bone in his sinus cavity among other problems. Love can overcome anything. He joined their family. Then came Molly and Lulu and together with Georgie, Timmy, Bellatrix, Louie and Riley they became a family with a hole in their hearts as big as Herbie.

FRIENDLY FILL-INS

Now it's time to join the Friendly Fill-Ins, a weekly feature held at this time, which is already in progress. Our hosts—15andmeowing and Four Legged Furballs need no innerductions as they are giants in the cat blogging world. They think up the fill-ins and I fill in the answers which are underlined and in italics. Any further comments on my part are in italics. Each week my image relates to one of the fill-ins. Today it applies to number two.

1. Petting This Cat is a privilege. I grant Pop this privilege in the mornings. TW can only pet me when I'm asleep or after she walks me to my kibble and I'm eating.

2. I was so embarrassed when Pop sees me playing. I only play for/with TW. When Pop enters the room, I stop playing. He isn't granted the privilege of watching my playtime.

3. I can't help but smile when human flesh is between my teeth.

4. 2020 has gotten out of hand. It keeps getting worse and worse.

CATURDAY ART

TW is the only one in our little family who liked the summer although this year it's been a bit much even for her. She hates wearing coats and wooly clothes. Pop was a Halloween baby so he looks forward to that time of year. Since I've gotten older, I feel like a wet dishrag during the hot, humid weather. 

I used Autumn colors in today's art. It really brings out my green eyes. It will be my Feral Friday entry in the Caturday Art blog hop which is hosted by the lovely Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty and her mum to showcase the latest art by anipal artists using digital apps, Photoshop or original art. No talent? No problemo. There are hundreds of one-click apps for desktop or mobile devices that will turn your photos into digital works of art.