congrats

Toot away my dear! Very happy for you and for Frosty the miracle kitty too!

That's wonderful news! Congratulations!

To quote a much younger version of myself,

Totally far out!

I'll follow in Pepperman's footsteps and say GROOVY!! :))

Diane, this is wonderful news and I'm so happy for you!
Love to hear happy news. Congratulations!!!


(((((((((( BIG HUGS ))))))))))

LMT

I say blow your own horn. This is great! Congrats to you!!!

Congratulations, my dear

Congrats to you. That is great!

:) congratulations

OMG, that is awesome! Would you care to share? would love to read them.

Max, the Black Cat by Diane M Gooding




There once was a black cat named Max.

In manners he was very lax.

He made children scream,

when on Halloween

he jumped out from under a fax.



He tugged at the sheets of a ghost.

He was not a very good host.

He made the clown cry,

and the witch yelled "Oh my!"

as he sharpened his claws on a post.



The candy he tossed to the floor.

And ran when they knocked on the door.

He did not want out,

but he did make them shout.

especially the kids under four.



The kids left with all of their loot.

To scold Max the point was just moot.

Cuz he jumped in my lap,

took a ten minute nap,

and I told him "good thing you're so cute!"




In Love With Another by Diane M Gooding



Im afraid Im in love with another.

My husband does not seem to mind.

I admit Im in love with another.

He is cute and very kind.



I confess Im in love with another.

Deny it to no avail.

My heart, it belongs to another.

He has whiskers and a tail.



Frosty, My Hero



Frosty, our 15 year old Maine Coon, is my hero.

After Frosty had a minor medical procedure, she

was blind and unable to walk. I learned some

very valuable lessons during the weeks that

followed her ordeal. She proved to be a very

determined young lady. I am not going to lie

and say it was an easy road for any of us.

She spent the first several days in a playpen

to keep her safe. Either our friend, my husband

or I stayed with her.


We placed her food and water right under her nose

and coaxed Frosty to eat. She forgot the concept

of using a litter box. She cried for almost two

days straight and hated her meds. We had to have

the discussion that all pet owners dread; what

to do if she did not get better.


Frosty surprised us by standing up one day, on

very shaky legs. At that point, the playpen

seemed to stress her out, so we put it away. We

"baby-proofed" the living room with baby gates

and removed items that could be dangerous to a

visually impaired cat. We helped her perform

exercises to strengthen her legs and read

countless articles on how to best help a

blind cat. We watched her hug the walls as she

circled the living room. She practiced walking;

her little legs going in all directions and her

feet coming down with a thud. She was quite the

little fighter. When her back legs refused to

follow her front legs, she turned around and

hissed at them. We had to assist her jungle-cat

efforts when she wanted to climb over some

furniture, but we did so gladly. She practiced

until she needed no assistance.


Frosty relied on others for a while to locate

her food and water, but that slowly changed as

well. We bought a water fountain and hoped that

she would learn to follow the sound to locate it.

We kept her food where it had been before her

ordeal when we learned that blind animals rely

on memory to locate most things. We returned her

litter box to its former location. And it worked.

The first time she found and used her litter box

again, I admit I had tears rolling down my face.


Her walking continued to improve. We placed one

of the baby gates at the bottom of the steps to

keep Frosty safe, but she badly wanted over that

thing. We had to physically remove her from the

gate on several occasions. One day, upon waking

from a nap, I opened my eyes to see her back end

going up and over the gate before I could reach

her. My husband and I laughed and rejoiced as

we took it down permanently.


I really need to stop here and mention that I

suffer from depression. Add in that my youngest

brother passed away unexpectedly three years ago;

and let's just say that I have been going through

the motions and nothing more. But the day I saw

Frosty go over that gate was the day my attitude

changed. I found myself thinking about her ordeal

and her determination and realized Frosty taught

me a few things. When her back legs refused to

follow her front legs, she turned around and

hissed at them. So I have been hissing at my

problems as well. When she was unable to locate

her food and water, she needed to rely on others.

I have learned that it is OK to ask others for

support. I do not have to travel this road alone.

None of us do. But the biggest thing I learned

is to NEVER STOP TRYING. Frosty drove that message

home by surmounting her biggest obstacle, that baby

gate.


Frosty, I am happy to report, has now regained her

eyesight. She walks with a slight limp when she

is tired. And she needs help getting on to her

two favorite places, the bed and the couch. But

that has not stopped her. She still has a lot of

living left to do. And so do I. These days, we

let very little get in our way.





Those are the entries to the book about cats. Once the other pieces hit the blog, I will post the link :)

Oh my goodness!!! you are very talented. Max the black cat, and InLove with another had me smiling and chuckling the whole way through. And Frosty, my her brought tears to my eyes, and so inspiring. Thankyou.

Wow Diane! Thanks for taking the time to post all of this!

Your care of Dear Frosty was amazing and I loved hearing his story!

I don't think I could have done what you did to save him!

I think I have a few things to hiss at right now too!

had to search for this thread....so I believe it deserves a "bump"

Wow, Diane, your work is amazing! I really loved al of it. And your essay about Frosty really reminds all of us to keep fighting depression and to not give in to it, no matter what. I hope you can keep going with your writing and by all means do toot your own horn!