Rainbow Bridge - Twin Angels

Two grey brothers from different mothers. Separated by less than a year as they departed for the Rainbow Bridge.


All I ask is that you play nice with all the other kitties.

Today Is Magoo's First Birthday at the Bridge

Enjoying some sun

Today would have been Magoo's 15th purrthday. But he is at the Bridge instead of being here with us to celebrate. It has been almost eleven months since he suddenly left us.

As anyone who has lost a beloved pet, friend and companion, it is always the firsts after their passing that are the hardest; The First Christmas, the First Birthday, The First Anniversary of their passing.

You have a party with your furriends at the Bridge, Magoo. Run and play and wrestle to your heart's content.

We miss you.


Pee Ess: In a glimmer of hope, I came across the new comic for everyone's favourite youtube cat - Simon's Cat. Go have a good laugh, Magoo would have liked that. Thanks to Jasper McKitten Cat for the link.

A faint voice at Dolce's Story Chair

Dad: I thought the Story Chair was bad before but this is so much worse. It is my fault I know, I couldn't find the right path for my story. And then...

Dad: And then my most beloved boy became an angel...


Dad: I loved this story. It was what I loved doing... Make you laugh, make you tense with expectation, make you cry, but always make you believe that in the end all would work out. But it didn't work out that way... Magoo was supposed to have the sniffles, a cough, a small chest congestion...instead we watched as he slipped away after the Vet's needle did it's humanitarian work. My beloved Magoo. I miss you.


One lonely night as I sat at the base of Dolce' Story Chair locked into to deep bout of melancoly, the air began to swirl and twist and fold upon itself until I no longer believed that I was at the ragged story chair that I had envisioned for my furriends in the Catblogosphere.













Magoo: I know this place. It's Dolce's Story Chair. It's been a while since I've been here.
Elbereth: Of course you do, Beloved one. This was the place your human created in his mind to bring you and all your furriends together. He wanted to bring joy to all those who would hear his words.
Magoo: I was in meadow playing with all my furriends just waiting for him and my mom to show up.
Elbereth: We cannot let you rest, Beloved Magoo. We have a request for you to make...
Your human visits the Story Chair he created in your sisfurs name from time to time but he does not call his furriends to hear his words nor does he share the joy that God has given his voice.
Magoo: What can I do?
Elbereth: Talk to your human one last time. Tell him to continue his stories for they give not only hope to him but to others as well.





Magoo: Dad...
Dad: Magoo?
Magoo: I have but a short time...
Elbereth: Cease, Magoo. Your human cannot hear your words until the Price is paid...

I looked at Magoo's shimmering form and at the glowing Angelic body before me..,

Magoo: The price I pay is that I shall not...

Dad(interrupting): The price I pay is that I shall not cross with any of my beloved ones. They shall all cross the Rainbow Bridge with my one and only beloved, my wife. None shall wait in the meadow of the Rainbow Bridge for me. From the breath I take at this moment to the breath that ends my life on this Earth, all creatures I love or have loved or will love shall cross the bridge without me.

Elbereth: The price is paid. Do you understand the covenant you have made?
Dad: I will pass from the Earth without anyone to accompany me. Even if I pass before my own earth-bound angel,my Wife.
Elbereth: Yes that is your pledge...

Dad: Magoo... We miss you so much.
Magoo: I miss you so much too. I have so many furriends here that it hurts. We talk about our humans and how much fun and love we had back in our old lives on Earth.
Dad: Have you shared the names of the humans that helped your dad along the way?
Magoo: The Angels know all the names of the humans that do what they can.
Dad: What do I do now?
Magoo: Remain true.
Dad: Pardon me, but what the hell does that mean?
Magoo: I was at the campsite at the fire when you retold the story of Jingles...
Dad: Please don't go.
Magoo: Dad, you are the Storyteller. I have spoken your name across the vast Rainbow Bridge Meadow. I will see you across the Rainbow Bridge.
Dad: Good bye, Magoo.
Magoo: Continue the stories, Storyteller...The magic in this chair can still bring us back to sit and listen and laugh. Even though we cannot touch you and let you know... Look to the corner of the Story Chair.. There are two Angelic feathers. All who have Come Before can fnd this place now...
Dad: There is a condition isn't there?
Elbereth: There always is; only when there are stories told and your loved ones are present, can your furriends cross the thresold between Heaven and Earth.
Dad: My furriends?
Elbereh: The Storyteller is wise. You told me that all cats you love or have loved or will love are covered by your vow. Your heart is vast. I have watched you cry tears over animals that you have never held or cuddled or even known. All creatures are bound by the stories their kind tells; from the Wolf that cries to the half-shapened moon to the frogs that croak at each sunset. Each talks of hope, contentment and love. Not much difference from that to a blog broadcast across the Internet...


Dad: I will be back...

How we are doing

Before he left us, Magoo gave a final MREOW. The Vet said that it was special. He gave his last breath as his heart stopped to say goodbye to us.

How are we doing?

This song says it all.

Everytime we see his picture we cry...

Heaven has a new Angel

At 8:08pm Mountain Daylight Time, Magoo Smith peacefully passed away while his Mom, Dad and Grandma placed kisses upon his furry head.

Magoo Smith 1996-2010

I was here.
I mattered.
I was loved.
I am eternal.

Magoo is feeling poorly

Magoo is not feeling very well. He collapsed as Grandma was getting his breakfast ready. He has to go see Dr.Nick. We are very worried.

Update: 5:20pm
This morning at 10:00am, my wife and I went to the Vet and met up with Grandma. Magoo was already in the incubator getting oxygen when we arrived. He was clearly in distress. His gums had turned blue which meant he wasn't able to take in enough oxygen on his own. The Vet said that she could not tell whether the problem was with his lungs or with his heart. But the most worrisome thing was that his heartbeat was so faint she could not hear it through her stethoscope. We had two choices: release him to the Bridge then and there or try to stabilize him. We choose to try and stabilize him.

We took him to the Emergency Vet Clinic. They also tried to hear his heart but his breathing was so labored it wasn't possible. They sedated him in hopes that once he relaxed they might be able to figure out what is going wrong. When we left him, he was receiving oxygen in a special cage as his heart and lungs are not doing what they are supposed to.

I made the mistake once before thinking that Smudge was ready to leave for the Bridge. I don't want to do the same thing again, but I am very scared that Magoo will not be with us very much longer. My wife is devastated as Magoo is her baby.

I am a coward as I am praying for Magoo to make the hardest decision ever for us.

Happy Purrthday Magoo!

Thirteen years ago, an angel came to earth. He did not have wings, but had four huge grey paws instead. He did not have a halo, but had a fluffy little tail instead. We did not know it at the time, but this little angel was made just for us.

The paws are still huge, and the little tail has grown into a long dust mop. He may have changed and grown up into a handsome mancat, but he will always be our little grey angel.


Happy Purrthday, Magoo!

With Love from

Mom, Dad, Grandma, Bella, Dolce, Smudge, Chloe, Dolce and even Baci.

Magoo - Mancat Monday with Extra Maple

Magoo Mediates Maple Munchies on Monday!

I, Magoo, being a good (actually a great) Canadian cat have to tell my furriends about my latest culinary obsession...MAPLE FUDGE!!!!!

You see Dad's Mom and Dad went to Atlantic Canada to do some research on some of Dad's ancestors. So they went through New Brunswick (I wonder what happened to the Old Brunswick?), Nova Scotia, and P.E.I. They brought Dad back some real Canadian Maple Fudge (Dad checked the label to be sure.)

When he was having some, I gotta whiff and I must tell you it smells fantastic. So I asked very nicely if I could have a small taste. (Dad: Magoo's way of asking nice is to extract his claws and pull your hand towards his mouth.) He gave me a small piece. It was amazing. I love Maple Fudge! Hooray for Maple Fudge!

Happy Purrthday to Magoo!

Happy Purrthday Magoo!

Today you are 12 years old! Just remember that no matter how old you get, you will always be our fuzzy gund.



You have become a great Mancat. A terror to all who try to invade your territory. Master of all that you can survey from your deck.

Loves you lots,

Mom and Dad.

The Christmas Tree is up...for now...

Last weekend, my wife and I got our Christmas tree setup for the season. Of course it is minus any ornaments at this time. We do this every year in hopes that the cats will get bored of the brightly lit tree after a week and then we can start putting all of the ornaments and ribbon on it.

Last year, Dolce and Bella took turns going for rides in the tree. (My wife purchased a tree that rotates.) Dolce thought that this was the greatest thing ever. She sat on one of the branches and enjoyed the ride. Well, she has climbed the tree several times this week and has found a comfortable spot on one of the branches. I saw her looking out at me. She had this look that seemed to say... Turn on the Tree, Dad. Turn it on. Make it spin like last year. Turn on the tree, Dad.

We have been closely watching Baci to see what his level of fascination will be with the tree. Right now, he only seems interested in it when Bella or Dolce are in the tree or if Dolce is playing with one of her mouses underneath the treeskirt. Hopefully, he remains this oblivious once the ribbon and ornaments go on. Magoo might be fascinated by the ornaments and ribbon, but he is too old and too husky to do any real investigation or damage.

Baci, on the otherhand, is a little Furricane just waiting to make landfall. Once that happens, all of our stuff will end up strewn about the living room and the tree will be unceremoniously uprooted. I wonder if the Canadian Red Cross would cover the damage from Furricane Baci.

Magoo goes to the V-E-T

Dad tried to fool me into thinking we were going out to find party stuff for Dolce's purrthday party tomorrow. If I have a choice in this outing, why do you have the PTU out, I asked.

Dad stammered and mumbled. I was not fooled. You are taking me to that quack, Dr. Nick. I reminded Dad that the last time I went there, Dr. Nick took some of my bloods and did not give them back. I said that Dr. Nick is dishonest. He takes bloods without asking first. Dad said that Dr. Nick asks him. I told Dad that like Mom, I don't hold his opinion in very high regard. Case in point, whose decision was it to bring Baci home. I rest my case.

Dr. Nick! I wants my bloods back. They are very smart, they do not need to be tested.

Magoo the Annoyed


PS. Magoo's Dad: Magoo had to go and see Dr. Nick about his arthritic shoulders. Magoo has lost some weight which was desirable to take some stress of his shoulders, and he had to have a blood test done to make sure his insides are okay. Magoo may grumble a bit, but he was a very good boy for both Dr. Nick and the Vet-Techie-Lady.

Magoo's Mancat Monday

It finally feels like spring has chased away the winter blahs. Believe or not we still had pockets of snow up to two weeks ago. The four cats have been yelling at us to let them outside and enjoy the warm spring weather. Baci has finally discovered what Spring means and he heartily agrees with Dolce that it is a very wonderful thing; but that is for a another post.

Today my Soldier is truly a Mancat. We got the lawn aerated and dethatched and moved and cleaned up from all the snow mould and dead grass from the winter. We had noticed that this year due to the heavy snowfall which left a deep layer of insulating snow, we had an unwanted mouse-type visitor. Not really mouse-type, more like actual mouse.

We had a suspicion that the intruder was hiding under a small storage shed. I took it apon myself to show Magoo that he had not kept all of the intruders out of the yard. By the way, my Wife does not like discussing this, it makes her sick to her stomache that her baby boy actually dispatched another creature to the great beyond.

A couple of paw twacks and a precise placement of his mighty fangs, and Mr. Mouse was given his wings and sent on heavenly way. To be fair this is the first mouse I have ever seen Magoo relieve of his earthly burden. (I can't use the word kill because it upsets the wife, so shhh about the illingkay of the ousemay.)

So I give you our triumphant Mouse-Dispatcher, Magoo, fresh from his behavioral enrichment.

Mr. DeMille, Is It time For My Close Up?

You have seen the power of Zoom, now behold the splendor that is Macro.

Our Prime Minister has recently returned to me that portion of my Income Taxes that he was not entitled too. I decied that I needed one more lense to complete my new camera package; a 100mm F2.8 Macro lens. At 11 inches, it can reproduce life-size images or really neat stuff. I have taken some pictures of the flowers that my wife got after her surgery, some rocks outside, some stupid household items, and of course pictures of the cats.

In Monday's post, Beau Beau & Angie said... "Had to post again -- Baci looks so so stunning in that shot and has the look of an old soul. Do you think so?"

I don't think he has an old soul, but he does have a deep intelligense within his eyes that is far greater than his eight months of life. This lead me to look through some of the 1,000 pictures I have taken of the cats since I got the new camera. Did I ever tell you much I enjoy digital cameras?

The following two pictures are pretty close to life size. I can't be completely sure because neither Bella nor Dolce were very cooperative when I tried to hold their heads up next to the computer monitor.

Click to biggify
Bella's eyes don't so much imply an old soul, but a deeply caring and loving one. She has the biggest eyes of all of the cats. They make her seem like a kitten still.

Click to biggify
Dolce's eyes say Trouble, with a capital "T".

Everyone stated how terrifying Magoo looked as he patrolled his backyard. I wanted everyone to also see why we love him so much. When he is asleep. Magoo is a great big purring teddy bear.
Click to biggify
Note his tongue partially sticking out.


Pee Ess: I have no picture of Baci's eyes closeup because he always scrunches his face up when I get too close with the camera.

Mancat Mondays

Here is our littlest mancat, Baci, as he hides in the undergrowth awaiting the best time tp pounce on his unsuspecting sister, Dolce.
Click to biggify.And see his baby blues.
His colouring was great camouflage in the winter, but now the snow is gone, he kinda sticks out like a sore thumb. His sister Bella, on the other hand, disappears into the colour of the cedar bark chips we have in the flower/plant beds.


I have mentioned that Magoo is our Soldier. He fiercely protects his backyard from any and all unwanted interlopers. You ask me how, since he looks like a great big teddy bear of a cat. Well, the following picture should suffice as an explanation why most other cats and his Grandma are scared poopless of him.

I give you the the notorious Canadian Snow Leopard displaying his anger at his territory being invaded:

What's Up Wednesday

It has been a little hectic in the House the last two weeks. Work has me travelling and the wife was cleared for surgery so she has been running around the house getting everything cleaned and organized so that things don't pile up while she is recuperating. But that is enough about the underlings/ the paid help of the House.

Everycat in the House is doing well. Magoo is getting grumpier and grumpier about not being outside every moment of the day now that the snow is gone. A couple of neighborhood cats have been coming by and leaving their calling cards. This is really aggravating Magoo. We have caught him peeing where he shouldn't.

Bella is doing a lot better now that Dolce is distracted by her new brother Baci. Bella doesn't seem a stressed as she was before. She is back to sitting on my wife's lap and helping her with her makeup. She comes and says Good Morning and Good Night everyday. The number of mats in her fur have gone down drastically. I guess she does have to worry about being cannonballed by Dolce when she wasn't looking.

Dolce is being Dolce. Everything happens at 100 mph. She is has started to cuddle again and even fell asleep on my lap while the Wife and I watched movies on the weekend. She hasn't done that in months. I think it really ahs to do with having a willing and able playmate in Baci. Although Baci loves bedtime, his ears perk up when he hears Dolce calling to him. They are a very sweet twosome. I'm not calling them a couple, because I think Dolce still has a thing for Scout.

As for Baci...Well I could write a couple of pages of what a little Mancat he is becoming. His paws are huge. They are rapidly approaching Magoo's in size. In a word, he is "Snorglelicious". He loves to be picked up and cuddled. He follows you around and cries until you pet him or scoop him up from the floor. Then you get to hear his deep rumbling purr. He has tried to make friends with Magoo, but his older brother can't be bothered to train another sibling. Bella doesn't want much to do with him either, which is okay because Dolce loves him. Baci loves her right back.

In less than a week, Baci will be turning 8 months old. He is firmly caught between the goofy kitten months and the transition into a young adult cat. He is now of a size where he can reach things on tables without a lot of awkwardness or clumsiness. It is amazing to see what becomes a cat's first obsession when they suddenly realize that they can get things down that they want. For Bella and Smudge, it was Q-tips; for Dolce, it was fishing socks out of the hampers; for Magoo, well he didn't seem to care about any of that sort of thing; and for Baci, it is change that I have left on my nightstand. He gets this determined little scowl on his face and he reaches up and slowly pulls the coins off the table. He is happiest when they hit the floor and roll into the heat register. There is way more noise that way. Let me tell you, it scares the crap out of you when he does it at 3:00 AM.

It's a short spell until I am home again with my Wife and the Cats. As silly as it sounds, I am counting the sleeps.

Mancat Mondays

I present to you one of the few pictures of the Endangered Canadian Snow Leopard in its natural habitat:

It's hard to be believe that our little Mancat-In-Training has been with us for four whole months now. He is getting bigger and bigger.

Back in February.

Now in April.


Dolce:
I have to turn to my blogging friends to prevent a travesty of justice; a unwholesome twisting of the truth; an invasion of feline privacy. Dad says he has pictures of my snuggling with Baci and he's going to post them as part of Wordless Wednesday. I told him he can't. What will Scout say when he sees them? I have a reputation to maintain. Just remember Dad: if that finger hits the publish button, a house plant will have to die.