Thursday 18 November 2010

An Open Door

Last year in June  my "furbaby" Josephina passed away. From the tiny kitten I cuddled in the palm of my hand, she grew into a rather large love machine. She became my shadow.  If I was working, I was ignoring her, so she'd jump up on my desk and casually spread herself across the keyboard. When she died at fourteen, I was devastated. After so many years with her, I couldn't imagine how I was going to cope without my furry attachment to comfort me, cuddle me and rule me with a paw of iron.

Little did I know that her big sister Theodora was waiting for her turn! Since Josephina has gone, Theodorable has blossomed. While she doesn't have her late sister's boisterous, extrovert personality - in keeping with her highly pedigreed ancestral line that contains many champions and grand champions - Theodora is fairly reserved, highly strung and, at times, disdainful. As an only furkid, she has come out of her shell, and I've discovered her delightfully gentle, playful and loving side.


I still have company when I work (see above) and I'm still ruled by a (regal) paw of iron. I love it and hope that, having just celebrated Theodorable's 15th birthday, I still get to share many a working day with her.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: When one door closes, another always opens.

Theodorable (also known as H.R.H.) in a regal pose. 


Theodorable (15) thinking she's a kitten with her new teddy toy!

14 comments:

Marilyn Brant said...

Awwwww...I love the endearment "Theodorable"!! What a sweetie she looks to be, Judy ;).

Anita said...

She's got an editor's eye, I can just tell.

Judy Croome | @judy_croome said...

MARILYN: Our vet gave her that name when she was just an adorable kitten! And she's an amazingly gentle cat - never scracthes or bites!

ANITA: You saw that eagle eye of hers? She doesn't let me get away with a thing! :)

Claire Robyns said...

Aah, now I'm really missing our cat, Amadeus, whom we left in SA with my brother. Love the name Theodorable, lol

CA Heaven said...

Good post, Judy. I agree, new doors open all the time. But sometimes you may need to push alittle bit to get them open >:)

Cold As Heaven

Nancy J. Parra said...

Oh, so sweet~ I lost my 12 year old big dog George, the end of June. So I understand the pain. Now I see that little dog Gracie never leaves my side. I agree on the open doors. (((hugs))) and thanks for the great photos!

Judy Croome | @judy_croome said...

CLAIRE: Amadeus is also good name for a cat. Beric was reading the Prince Valiant comic strip when I said give me a name for the kitten...he chose Theodora from the comic strip!

COLD: Sometimes we have to slam those doors open so hard our shoulders ache for weeks. Luckily, Theodora's purring comes a lot easier!

NANCY: I saw the photo of Gracie on her own chair. Very cute. I'm sure George approves. :) (HUGS)

septembermom said...

Judy, she looks like the perfectly fuzzy and sweet companion for a super talented author like you. Can I borrow that adorable Muse??? LOL.

Judy Croome | @judy_croome said...

KELLY: She is an adorable fuzzy Muse, but she's a demanding one as well, so maybe you want to rethink that borrowing request?? :)

Robyn Campbell said...

Sweet Theodora. Hugs to her. We just passed the one year anniversary of loosing our beloved Blue. I miss him so much. His brother passed 7 weeks later of heartache. I miss them so much. I still have Cotton their mama. She is 16 and still running around the house. She flies up the stairs. :) I hope we have her many, many years.

((hugs)) from Christopher and me. We love you. :)

Lynne Barry said...

What a beautiful cat. My kitty also love sitting on my keyboard - he's been known to do spellcheck and write ========== all by himself. (:

Judy Croome | @judy_croome said...

ROBYN: A year goes so quickly, but the memory stays on forever. I planted a shrub called a "yesterday, today and tomorrow" on Josephine's grave, to celebrate all the days we shared and all the memories to come. Hope Cotton is with you for many years! (((HUGS))) to Christopher!

LYNNE: Haha! Theodora is *most* impressed with your kitty. She says that's her kind of feline: brilliant and superior!! :)

Anonymous said...

OMG...I'm in love...my Magnolia Pearl is a polydactyl Maine Coon. She is from Kentucky, and the 2009 CFA Midwest HouseHold Cat Champion. (She was still with the breeder, under another name.) She could not be shown in the "Ring", as she is polydactyl. As is custom, she has a P. in her name, which denotes the Polydactylism...thus Pearl is her middle name. When she completed her reign as Champion I adopted her, at 15 months of age. I saw her last show, where she told the judge she was done, her parents were there, she had enough...thank you very much. *LOL* Maggie continues to run the show. I adore her. She is my second (also white) polydactyl. *sigh*
I love "Theodorable"!! I love unique names, and very appropriate, too!!

Anonymous said...

PS...I am a new follower...and hope you will join me, too...McGuffyAnn
McGuffy's Reader
http://www.mcguffysreader.blogspot.com
I am "animal friendly", and an animal advocate, actually...cats especially.