Saturday Snapshot ~ Kiki's obituary ~ on Caturday

The moon is visible in the morning cky (click to enlarge)

All I was able to write yesterday was R.I.P. ~ Kiki, but she was so much a person that it feels like she should have an obituary and I should be planning a big memorial service for her friends to attend.  And she did have friends.  When people came to visit, she would join us in the living room and mingle with the crowd.  She truly loved people.  When Donna and I opened a bookstore, Kiki took seriously her job as bookstore cat.  She would wander around and visit with customers and book club participants.

Kiki working on her blog post

Unlike other cats, she would look at me when I spoke her name.  Sometimes, she would respond with a meow, as if saying, "Yes?"  She was a talkative kitty, but seemed to know we take turns.  She let me talk, then would answer.  When I said "treats" with a question in my voice, she would widen her eyes and say "Meow!"

Need I translate?  (No, I didn't think you'd need any help.)

She loved to be outside and would often sit at the door waiting to go out on our patio.  Yesterday morning, hours after her crying in pain woke me at 4:30 a.m., I sat on the patio with Kiki dying on the cool concrete at my feet, rubbing behind her ears and waiting for the vet to arrive at her office.  And I noticed the moon still in the sky.  Kiki didn't look up, didn't move when laughing neighbors walked within a few feet of us as they passed on their way to work, didn't turn her head to see chirping birds in the grass, didn't look at the squirrel chattering at her from the tree.  She didn't see the moon as the sun crept higher toward 8:00 o'clock, 8:15, 8:30 when we left for our 9:00 o'clock emergency appointment with the vet.  We were early, but Kiki died on the table at exactly 9:00 a.m.  She was revived, but couldn't make it.  When the vet said some vital organ had burst within her, I said, "Let her go."  Because they had "shocked" her heart back to life, the vet had to euthanize her, a few minutes past 9:00 a.m.  I was with her to the end, and I loved her so much.  She was the most loving cat I have ever known.

The vet and the assistant each hugged me as I cried.  And for two days now, condolences have been pouring in for Kiki from her friends.  Here are some who knew her in person:

Ginnie:  "Bonnie, i am so sorry. She was a very special person, and I do mean person. She loved you and comforted you and entertained you through twelve years of dramatic changes in your life. She will be missed."

Emily:  "Oh Bonnie, I miss her too. She was such a special kitty. Sending hugs to you, but can't help crying with you too."  (Then Emily called to cry on the phone with me.)

Ellen:  "I'm so sorry to hear this, Bonnie. I'm thinking of you."

Martha, a great lover of cats:  "Bonnie, I am so sorry about Kiki. I know how much you loved her and what a great companion she was. I DO understand what you are going through."

Card from our roommate Donna:

"In their eyes, we see a loving soul,
and in our hearts,
we know we'll never have a finer friend."

Donna wrote in that card:  "She loved so freely, but especially loved you.  You were her soul mate.  I loved her ... for so many things, but one truly large reason was the fact that she taught Sammy how to love to the best of Sammy's ability.  Sammy has lost much of her feral nature because of watching you and Kiki's so very special relationship. ... Kiki died knowing you loved her.  Remember that and savor her gentleness."

Sammy looking for Kiki, bewildered.

Sammy, Donna's cat, keeps searching for Kiki and wandering to the love seat where Kiki chose to rest during the last days of her life, saying, "Meow?" as if asking, "Where is she?  Where?"

Sylvia:  "I am very sorry, Bonnie. I know she was a faithful companion through many ups and downs and all the in-betweens."

Carol: "I'm so sorry about Kiki, love you!"

Laura:  "Oh, no!  So sad, Bonnie. You all had lived together a long time. Peace for you both."

Paula:  "Bonnie, I am so sorry to hear about Kiki.  You must be quite sad about this."

Lex:   "So sad, kitties are the best companions and some of the most precious personalities in our lives."

Card from the vet:

"Good friends leave paw prints and fond memories in our heart ... Our Sincerest Sympathy ... We share in your sadness and understand the loss you are feeling."

And here are some who knew Kiki only online:

Madge:  "Sad to hear but she came to the right house. She was loved and loved back."

Susan:  "oh no! so sorry to hear this, thinking of you today Bonnie {hugs}"

Margreet, in the Netherlands:  "Honey, I'm so sorry for your loss.  I know how much Kiki meant to you.  Love you."

Brenda:  "So, so sorry, Bonnie."

Nancy, another cat lover:  "Oh, no! I'm so sorry, Bonnie. I know how much you loved Kiki. (((HUGS))) "

Kathryn:  "Aw Bonnie, I am sorry to hear this. Such a beautiful cat and fine companion. Hang in there."

Jeannie:  "So sorry, Bonnie!"

Margaret:  "So sorry that Kiki is no longer with us, but she's needed elsewhere to give light, love, hugs, and soft paws for the universe.  I know you miss her sweet presence."

Jan:  "I am so sorry, Bonnie."

Helen:  "Oh Bonnie, I am so sorry to hear about Kiki! I know how much she meant to you and will miss her presence on your blog. I hope you doing alright."

"Her presence on this blog," Helen said.  You did know, didn't you, that Kiki was a reader (aren't photos proof of that?) and reviewed books on some Caturdays.  She wrote about Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron, but Kiki's favorite book was The Silliest Cat by Gilles Bachelet — click on the titles to read her reviews.

And this obituary wouldn't be complete without mentioning that Kiki's hobby was bird watching.  Look carefully in the photo below to see the baby bird on the windowsill.

Click to enlarge, and look for a little yellow beak.

Do you remember Kiki wanted a bird feeder like Sammy's?  She told the whole world, so I got her a double feeder for her birthday in April.  It has a hanger for birdseed on one side and a hanger for suet on the other.  Kiki's eyes would dart to the fluttering wings as birds arrived to feed outside our bedroom window.

In Kiki's introduction to this blog in 2008, I called her a con artist who could lie for a good cause.  That single paragraph was the introduction to a book review, but my favorite part is what I wrote in a comment below that post:

One of KKi's frequent kisses

Today a friend sent me an email about how loving dogs are, while cats aren't ... because they believe you are there to serve them. I wrote back and told her about this time from Kiki's early years with me:

I had been out of town for 3 or 4 days. I had left plenty of food and water, which works for a cat, who eats what she needs and saves the rest. When I got home and opened the door to the kitchen, Kiki ran past me like crazy through the garage to the driveway, happy to be outside again. But she stopped suddenly, turned around, ran back and "kissed" me by licking my chin. Then she felt free to run out into the glorious sunshine.

You may laugh about cats ignoring you, but Kiki loves me and remembered to welcome me home with a kiss before she went outside to smell the fresh air and play. As I've said before, she is the most loving cat I've ever had. I feel blessed to be loved by Kiki.

~~~ Kiki's best friend, Bonnie

Kiki had her own way of ending her Caturday posts.  Here it is, one last time, and it's even a Caturday.  (Oh, shucks, now I've made myself cry.)


Kiki Cat, signing off



(Links to other Saturday Snapshots are here.)

Saturday Snapshot ~ rainbow

I spotted this rainbow as I drove home in mid-May, but traffic was too busy to get a good shot.  When I stopped in the turn lane at my apartment complex, it was a now-or-never moment, and this is what I got.  It's almost as bad as the sunset I missed in April.

Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books.  To participate, post an old or new photo taken by you (or a friend or family member).  Check out the snapshots others are sharing this week.

Caturday Snapshot ~ forlorn kitty

Babe is an indoor-outdoor cat who lives where I've been house-and-cat-sitting.  She has beautiful green eyes.  In this snapshot, she was watching for Jane to come home — or maybe watching the squirrels and chipmunks and birds.

She doesn't like being stuck inside alone, as shown in this photo.  Doesn't she look forlorn, watching me leave to go somewhere, maybe to last week's birthday party?  Oh, you don't see her?  Look closely at the bottom middle of the window, where she's pushed aside the hanging blinds (click to enlarge photo).  She had made a rush for the door, but I got it closed before she got out.  I'm sure Babe is pleased Jane is now back home from Ireland.

Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books. To participate, post an old or new photo taken by you (or a friend or family member).  Check out the snapshots others are sharing this week.

Caturday ~ Kiki loves me

Kiki loves to be near me.  Thursday, when I stretched out to read a bit, she snuggled up against me, wrapped her paws around my arm, and tucked her head in tight.  These hugs (it isn't the first time, as you can see here and here and here) make it hard to turn pages with one hand and read.  But she loves me and it was my birthday.  Who could resist?

Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books.  To participate, post an old or new photo taken by you (or a friend or family member).  Check out the snapshots others are sharing this week.

Saturday Snapshot ~ missed it!

This is known as the Oops-I-missed-the-sunset shot.  I was inside when I saw it, but by the time I got outside, this is what was left.  Maybe I needed to go two more steps to my right, since the red sun seems to be behind that treetop.  Oh, well, it was beautiful, honest.

Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books.  To participate, post a photo taken by you (or a friend or family member).  Your photo can be old or new, as long as its subject is appropriate for all eyes to see.  Check out snapshots others are sharing this week.

Saturday Snapshot ~ Martha and Jess

Martha and Jess were married 20 years ago this week (April 4, 1992).  She posted this photo on my Facebook wall, asking me, "Bonnie, do you remember where you were 20 years ago today???"  Yes, I was right there in the middle of it all.  The wedding, I mean.  No, I wasn't a bridesmaid wearing black with a cute white collar, but you kind of needed me there.  I remember driving three hours from Morristown to be in Chattanooga that day.  Mother and I didn't move back to Chattanooga until late June of that year.

I also remember that, in spite of major surgery not long before, Martha was determined to walk down the aisle — and she did!  Yay, Martha!  And I know you two still act madly in love with each other.  I must have tied that knot pretty well, huh?

Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books.  To participate, post a photo taken by you (or a friend or family member).  Your photo can be old or new, as long as its subject is appropriate for all eyes to see.  Check out the snapshots others are sharing this week.

Saturday Snapshot ~ my dad

This is a 1945 photo of my dad, William Elmer Setliffe, Jr.  He was probably 26, since his 27th birthday would have been in October.  The bronze plaque at the church where I grew up showed that the organ was "dedicated in honor of those who served in World War II."

I also took a close-up so I could read my dad's name.

Not having taken any interesting photos lately, I hadn't planned to post a snapshot this week.  Then I saw that Helen @ Helen's Book Blog had pulled out an old one of her (very young) parents.  Thanks for the inspiration, Helen!

Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books.  To participate, post a photo taken by you (or a friend or family member).  Your photo can be old or new, as long as its subject is appropriate for all eyes to see.  Check out snapshots others are sharing this week.

Saturday Snapshot ~ emergency vehicles

This was taken with my cell phone, about an hour after I had snapped a photo of the sign at Ryan's.  I could "wonder" if there's any connection between the two, but — no — the snapshot taken an hour before was the result of carelessness or an under-educated employee.  (Why are you still here?  Don't you want to see my earlier photo?)

This meme is hosted by Alyce @ At Home With Books.
Links to today's photos are here.

Saturday Snapshot ~ Jane Yelliott and her art

Here's my friend Jane Yelliott at the In-Town Gallery's "First Friday" event last night.  She's standing beside Koi (left) and Water Lilies (right), two of her ceramic tiles hanging in the Gallery.  Here are close-ups of those two tiles (click to enlarge the images).

Koi (ceramic tile)

Water Lilies (ceramic tile)

Jane is quoted online:

“Having the curiosity of a cat led me to explore many different mediums by studying with the very best of instructors.  Always with a passion for painting the living breathing human form, I delight in portraying the innocence of children as well as nudes.  Animals, particularly cats, are great subject matter.  I have enjoyed creating cloisonné jewelry and working with silver and gold, but at present I am concentrating on pastels, watercolor, and ceramic glazing on porcelain tiles.  Variety is the spice of life!”

Read more about Jane here.

In November, I posted this picture of Jane's cat Sheba, which hangs on the wall at her house.  Two or three years ago, Jane offered to paint my cat Kiki.  I have now commissioned her to do it.  Speaking of Kiki, I think you should feed her Caturday koi.

This meme is hosted by Alyce @ At Home With Books.
Links to today's photos are here.

Saturday Snapshot ~ clarinet concert

Last Saturday, as Kiki told you, my friend Ginny was in town from Tallahassee to take part with these other clarinet players in an all-day rehearsal and workshop at the University.  I attended the excellent Clarinet Concert which followed their long day.  Ginny is wearing red, on the left edge of the photo.  The official photo is posted online here.


Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books.  To participate, post a photo taken by you (or a friend or family member).  Your photo can be old or new, as long as its subject is appropriate for all eyes to see.  Check out snapshots others are sharing this week.

Kiki Caturday ~ a snapshot

Bonnie has been busy this week packing books into boxes, as you can barely see in this photo.  She makes me tired, just watching her, so mostly I just close my eyes.  That means I have to catnap so I don't see her, see?  She took the picture, so we'll call this her Saturday Snapshot.  Even if I did post it for her because she's been busy making plans to get together with her friend who is in town this weekend from Florida.

Kiki Cat, signing off

This meme is hosted by Alyce @ At Home With Books.
Links to today's photos are here.

Saturday Snapshot ~ two readers

Another generation of readers.  Yes, they are reading books I gave them for Christmas.  Love of reading runs in the family.  Do you suppose it's in our genes?

Jaxon, my 1-year-old great-grandson, was surrounded by men of the family.

Raegan, my 2-year-old great-granddaughter, got Janis to read to her.

This meme is hosted by Alyce @ At Home With Books.
Links to today's photos are here.

Saturday Snapshot ~ guitar cat

We're having friends over on New Year's Day tomorrow, and some of them have never been here.  This guitar-playing cat is their clue that they've found our apartment.

(Do you like how I managed to post a cat on Caturday?)


Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books.  To participate, post a photo taken by you (or a friend or family member).  Your photo can be old or new, as long as its subject is appropriate for all eyes to see.  Check out snapshots others are sharing this week.

Saturday Snapshot ~ mother of grandparents

It's still hard to imagine my children are grandparents. My daughter's daughter has a daughter, and my son's son has a son. Here are those two (of my three) with their grandchildren.  Jaxon, who was wearing that plastic fire hat earlier, has put it on his Grandpa's head.  See him looking at it?

And here's Raegan, hugging her Nanny.  I got a good profile photo of her here, looking like she's on the verge of another giggle.  She looks straight at somebody and starts a loud "HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!"  And that makes all of us laugh along with her.  She had the whole firehall laughing at Jaxon's first birthday party.

This meme is hosted by Alyce @ At Home With Books.
Links to today's photos are here.

Saturday Snapshot ~ holiday party

I got these "okay" snapshots at last night's holiday party at our apartment complex.

Donna, my roommate

Jackie, our neighbor

Singing all "Twelve Days of Christmas"

Leading us in singing when he got to "five golden rings!"

Remember our luau?  Vickie was at this holiday party too, but Kevin had to work.  When the community photos are posted, I'll come back and add a link here.

Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books.  To participate, post a photo taken by you (or a friend or family member).  Your photo can be old or new, as long as its subject is appropriate for all eyes to see.  Check out snapshots others are sharing this week.

Saturday Snapshot ~ after the flood

The weeds that were completely submerged are not four feet tall, as I had guessed.  They are taller than I am and probably not less than six feet tall.  That floodwater was really deep to completely cover them.  To the right, you can see where flowing water leveled weeds that were not quite so rigid, and they still haven't straightened up.

I was at the bottom of the hillside taking these photos today, and that's my apartment building at the top.  Those two satellite dishes were in some of my earlier photos, here and here.  That smaller bush in the center hides the side window of my bedroom.

The surprise left behind by the floodwaters were dozens of yellow dandelions on the hillside, like this one.  The ground still feels mushy, and I didn't venture beyond the tall-weed border.


Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books.  To participate, post a photo taken by you (or a friend or family member).  Your photo can be old or new, as long as its subject is appropriate for all eyes to see.  Check out snapshots others are sharing this week.