It needs to be said

Flora passed away last Sunday and my husband and I were able to be with her at her last moments. We had to hospitalize her the night before and through out the night and the next day, her health continued to decline until she coded when they were examining her. The doctors were able to bring her back and we were able to spend some time with her and say our good byes before she eventually passed away.

I know many don't really understand the bond a person can have with an animal. I have to be honest that Flora was the only animal that I truly bonded with. She was my responsibility and loved me and my husband unconditionally. There were no questions asked. While some might think doing all that we did and mourning for her is silly, I don't expect them to understand unless they too have experienced the unconditional love and bond that an animal can provide.

Being with her at the end was one of the most sacred experiences that I have had. I truly felt that she fought back to come back to life to see us one last time. More than anything, I think it was for us to have peace of mind. She knew us so well, and her fighting back to see us again was her way of expressing her love. I also have no doubt that she knew that we were there; her eyes lite up and she began to calm down when we entered the room.

I can not say enough about how grateful and compassionate were the staff that we dealt with at the Animal Medical Center. They did everything in their power to help Flora. They answered the million and one questions that I had and never made me feel like I was being a burden. Dr. Tripp (Flora's oncologist) was so patient with us! She answered all of our questions, calmed our concerns, and even had two lengthy conversations with us when she was off duty. She rushed to the clinic when Flora was coding (again she was off duty) and hugged us and cried with us when it was all over. Flora must have won all their hearts over, because everyone in the room was shedding a tear.  Just yesterday we received a card from them that was signed by everyone that we came in contact with at the clinic (it was well over a dozen people and they all wrote a lengthy note expressing their condolences!)

These last few weeks have been incredibly hard and stressful. Both my husband and I have experienced lose of sleep, appetite, and had to go through experiences that I hope that some may never have to go through.  Through out it all, I have been amazed by the love and prayers that I have felt from others. It kept us going. I had no idea how kind people can be, even complete strangers! All for a cat! I can not express how grateful I am for all those who prayed for us, who kept us in their thoughts, who called/text/emailed. You guys are literally the heroes in this story! I am so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people!

I am also so grateful for the love and compassion that was shown by my Heavenly Father. I have felt his tender mercies many times through out this trial. I had certain fears that I pleaded with him to not let me experience and he didn't allow them to happen. I know that he knows me personally and that he loves me. What a wonderful blessing to have that knowledge!

Flora, may God be with you until we meet again. You will be missed and never forgotten. You brought so much joy and happiness with the short three years that we had you! We were so lucky :)

Update

Flora Bean started chemotherapy today. I know. I know. Cross your fingers people.

A favor por favor?

My cat Flora is really sick. She hasn't really eaten for almost a week and the vet thinks that she might have lymphoma. We will find out more info after an ultrasound is done soon. If you believe in prayer, miracles, good vibes, whatever...please send them our way. I don't have children and this little creature is as close to having a child as I can experience for now. I know it sounds dumb, but my heart is breaking. Life is difficult sometimes....

Flora Da Explorer

I know she is just a cat but this little kitty has taught me alot about being a mother. When we first got her, I told Brock I would do everything in my power to keep her alive. I've taken her to the vet for checkups a total of 3 times, had her teeth cleaned, and I monitor her food intake (she is a bit round, like the shape of a bowling ball). If she has any change in behavior it kinda scares me and I keep a hawk's eye on her. Last time I took her into the vet, I was convinced she was sick, they told me nothing was wrong with her, I still had a hard time believing. There are times at night I wake up to check to see if she is breathing ok. I know, I've gone off the deep end...

Flora also has taught me lots of patience. She follows me around everywhere and can be quite demanding. She is always craving my attention and sometimes I just want to be left alone. She won't go to sleep unless we are asleep, she won't drink water from the faucet (it has to be filtered), and she has to be feed every morning at a certain time or it will get ugly. She can be a pain, but I love her all the same. Now lets hope that my future children don't behave the same way; I really might lose it.

She's A Clever One I Tell You

This morning Flora gave all she had to wake us up at 5 in the morning to feed her. We ignored her. She then threw up all over Brock's church clothes (that he had placed on the floor) to get our attention. It worked. Brock cleaned up the mess while I ignored it all (I'm telling you, he is going to be an awesome dad, I might be lacking in the mother category). Then she demanded to be fed.

She does this every single time when we don't get up right away to feed her in the wee hours of the morning. We took her to the vet to find out if she was internally sick. An exam, tons of blood work, and a hefty bill later resulted in there being nothing wrong with her. She's a clever one I tell you.

Taking Baths are Fun! Right?

We bathed Flora last night. To our surprise she liked it (as much as she can like it)! She even purred. Kinda weird. But she's all soft and fuzzy now.

The One Thing That Makes Flora Go Crazy

Pounce tuna flavored cat treats. Nothing makes this cat more excited than these treats. Not even catnip. She goes nuts over these. She sees the bright pinkish purple bag and she will do whatever you want her to do. Brock has even taught her how to sit by bribing her with a crunchy pounce tuna flavored treat. That says a lot since Flora is a very INDEPENDENT cat (although she does mind me when I tell her not to do something). She even goes looking for this stuff. We have it hidden in a drawer and this morning I caught her trying to OPEN the drawer to get to them. Brock thinks we need to have an intervention with her and all her friends.

Sister Judkins, You are Missing a Family Member!

Today was my turn to teach sharing time. The lesson was about family spiritual traditions like FHE, family prayer and family scripture study. I shared a picture of my family with the class and told them how each member was important to me. The picture that I shared was of Brock and I when we got married. As I'm about to move along to a different topic, I see one of the boys in the back of the room with his hand up. With the most serious tone in his voice he said "Sister Judkins, you are missing a member of your family, Flora is part of your family. You really need to get a new family picture with Flora in it." Note to self: the cat is part of the family...

Wordless Wednesday: We All Do It

Please don't make me take that!

Last Saturday we took our kitty to the vet for her boaster shot and for some blood work. The minute she saw her crate we thought she was going to have a heart attack. Brock had her sit in his lap to calm her down a bit before we put her in the crate. The whole entire time her eyes were fixated on the crate.
We managed to put her in there with no horrifying issues and we were off to the vet. Flora was on her best behavior. She didn't even growl and hiss when they shoved a thermometer up her bottom. The vet recommended that we run some tests on her for Bartonella and for FIV (cat aids). Flora allowed them to draw her blood with no problem at all. I think she was looking forward to going home as soon as possible.
The test results came in yesterday and there was good news and bad news. Yes she was negative for FIV but she was positive for Bartonella. No worries, it was curable. All we had to do is give her some medicine for the next 21 days.
Today I head over to the vet to pick up her meds and they give me specific instructions on how to administrate it to her. It's a liquid and it had to be administrated through a syringe. Now I know that there is no way that Flora wold EVER allow me to open her mouth and insert anything in it.
So we come up with the most ridiculous solution. We get an old t-shirt and somehow convince her to let us put her head through one of the arm holes. Then we wrap her up like a baby so the only thing that we really have to worry about is controlling her head.
Next we somehow have to find a way to convince her to open her dang mouth! It was a struggle, but once I got the medicine in her mouth she actually liked it.
Most of it landed all over her face and not in her mouth. Not to worry, she didn't mind licking it all up.

Flora Da Explorer

We have a cat and I think she is fabulous. She has lots of character and is very entertaining. She lived at the Seattle Humane Society for a year and no one really wanted to take her home. She is ten years old and is over weight. Here are some of our favorites of her.

Here she is playing with some yarn. This is on the second day at our house. Can you tell how fat she is?

She LOVES this chair. If any one else is sitting on it and she wants to sit there, she will whine until you get up. There is no sharing the chair with her.

One day we came home from work and could not find her any where. We found her under the covers. Some how she managed to crawl herself under the covers of our made up bed.

She has a hard time cleaning herself, so this is her solution. She licks her paws and then continues with her business.

I Live in Seattle

So we have been in Seattle for almost six months and I LOVE it. Seattle is very refreshing and at the same time over whelming. Brock and I have experienced lots of changes since we have moved up here and let me tell you it definitely has been an experience.
We bought our first house. I think it is fantastic. It is very old but has lots of character. Original hardwood floors, crown molding, and a fantastic yard. People in our neighborhood have told us how much they envy our yard. I love being a home owner, but it comes with a lot of challenges. When we first moved in we had an on going battle with ants. They literally took over. Finally about a month of trying every method we could think of we found this product that in the description said "it is like crack for ants." So we bought it and it worked like a charm. No more ants. Then came the moss. Seattle homes have issues with moss on the rooftops and it is a pain to deal with.Last weekend Brock climbed on top of the roof and dumped two huge bags of baking soda to kill the moss. I was very proud of him because he is terrified of heights. After we were done it looked like it had snow on our roof top. Hopefully we can get rid of the moss soon.
Along with the new house comes a new pet. I originally wanted to get a dog, but could not find one that I liked. So one day I was browsing the Humane Society website and I feel in love with this cat. She is old, obese, and has been at the shelter for a year. That was it, I had to have her. Her name is Flora and she now lives with us. I do have to say I am very fond of her, but she isn't very fond of me. She is in love with Brock and very protective of him. If she is sitting next to him on the couch, I'm not allowed to come and sit by him. She growls at me. But it is alright because she is old and fat and doesn't know any better.
Work is exhausting and rewarding. Both Brock and I work for Amazon.com. It is a fast pace environment with lots of things to learn. They definitely believe in the motto "work hard and play hard." But all in all I enjoy it.