My precious Rhea...

(The picture at the top was Rhea fat, happy, and healthy. The one's at the bottom were taken the night before she passed away). My precious 8-year-old cat Rhea (Rhea means Greek Goddess) has been sick for quite some time. We thought she had an abscess that was pushing her eyeball out and the vet tried draining it with no success. We tried antibiotics and steroids with no success. One day Rhea took a turn for the worse and started have trouble breathing. Everything started to go down hill and I noticed a new mass on her neck and above the eye that was protruding and infected. I thought about taking her to the emergency room to put her to sleep but the thought killed me. The next day (Sunday) I called the vets office and left a message telling them what happened and that I thought it was time to put her down as she was suffering. I asked them to call me back first thing Monday morning. One of the vets called me back right away and said if it was a retrobulbar abscess that we thought it was, the antibiotics would have helped and new masses would not be showing up. He told me to bring her in first thing at 8:30 the next morning to put her to sleep. I stayed up that entire night with Rhea taking pictures, videos, and holding her while crying. My mom and I took her in and I held her for awhile and then it was time. The vet told me after examining her that it was actually a tumor not an abscess and it was cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes. I for sure was doing the right thing. Poor Rhea. This explains why our treatments failed. She had lost a lot of her fur and tons of weight. Rhea did not fight, she was calm when they gave her the injection and she was gone in seconds. They wrapped her in Rhea's blanket that I brought and put her in my arms. My mom and I took her to a place to have her cremated. I stayed with Rhea for quite some time in a private room and took a lock of her fur to keep. My mom bought me a gold heart necklace there and we cut another piece of Rhea's fur to put inside the heart. I finally had to say good-bye and the woman there brought out Rhea's blanket that was wrapped around her. Later that day they called me and told me that her ashes were ready. I picked them up and they put them in a beautiful wooden box with a lock and keys. They attached an ID tag to it that was engraved "RHEA" on it. On the bag the ashes were in, it said, "Remains of Rhea Morgan, February 15th, 2010". I put Rhea's fur and collar inside the box with the ashes and it sits in my bedroom. I miss her terribly and this is so much harder than I ever imagined. She was so loving and gentle. I miss her sitting on my lap constantly and her sweet meow. She is no longer suffering now and she is happy!

When Tomorrow Starts Without Me

When tomorrow starts without me,
And I'm not there to see;
The sun will rise and find your eyes
All filled with tears for me.
I wish so much you wouldn't cry
The way you did today,
Remembering how I'd lay my head
In your lap that special way.
I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too.

But when tomorrow starts without me.
Please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name
And petted me with her hand.
She said my place was ready,
In Heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind
All those I dearly love.

But, as I turned to look away,
A tear fell from my eye,
For all my life I never thought
That I would have to die.
I had so much to live for,
So many sits and downs to do,
It seemed almost impossible,
That I was leaving you.

I thought about our lives together,
I know you must be sad,
I thought of all the love we shared,
And all the fun we had.

Remember how I'd nudge your hand,
And poke you with my nose?

If I could relive yesterday,
Just even for awhile,
I'd wag my tail and kiss you,
Just so I could see you smile.

But, then I fully realized,
That this could never be;
For emptiness and memories
Will take the place of me.
And when I thought of treats and toys,
I might miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you and when I did,
My cat-heart filled with sorrow.

But then I walked through Heaven's gate,
And felt so much at home;
As God looked down and smiled at me,
From His beautiful golden throne.
He said, "This is eternity,
And now we welcome you,
Today your life on earth is past,
But here it starts anew.

I promise no tomorrow,
But today will always last;
For you see, each days the same day,
There's no longing for the past.
Now you have been so faithful,
So trusting, loyal and true;
Though there were times you did things,
You knew you shouldn't do.

But good cats are forgiven,
And now at last you're free;
So won't you sit here by my side,
And wait right here with me?"
So when tomorrow starts without me,
Don't think we're far apart.
For every time you think of me,
I'm right there, in your heart.

Rhea struggling to breathe. If you turn up your volume you can hear it.




Rhea breathing again. These were taken the night before she passed away. She was on my lap most of the night and barely slept the whole night because she couldn't breathe.