# Introduction



## Empath (Jan 23, 2004)

Hello. I'm Empath. My given name is James. I've been retired for a year. I grew up in a family of eight kids, and of course always had dogs or cats around. It seemed my older brother always assumed "ownership" of the dogs, and my older sister alway assumed "ownership of the cats. In reality, no one "owned" anyone; but we all enjoyed the companionship of one another.

Before coming to Oregon from Oklahoma, we always had a couple of cats. When first moving here, My wife, son and I moved into a rented four-plex unit, and for awhile, no pets were allowed. We sure missed them. The units were sold to someone else, and the new owner permitted us to have cats. So, while my son was still young, we got a cat, and named him Rom. Eventually a stray, about a year old, showed up. He was desperate for a home, wormy, loosing his hair and in generally bad condition, but took a liking to us. So we took him in and gave him the vet attention he needed, and a whole lotta' love. We enjoyed his companionship until he was about twelve years old, when he contacted an infection that we couldn't bring under control. Rom of course grew older, and became closer all the time. Eventually our son headed off to college, and was then out making it on his own. Rom of course stayed, and remained an indoor cat and an essential member of the household. We eventually moved from the four-plex, and Rom of course welcomed the additional rooms. We didn't get a second cat, since Rom was gaining in years, and we preferred to give him the stability of being THE "Cat" of the family.

I found the Cat Forum just recently, when I felt that I wanted to make some tribute to a member of our family, our cat. Thinking perhaps it would alleviate some of the ache created by his departure, I joined the forum and posted this message.

We have now adopted a young kitten named Kiwi from our local shelter. She's a young female about five and a half months old. She's black and orange with a tortoise shell coat, short haired domestic variety. She's loving and playful. Unfortunately, she apparently acquired a URI from the shelter, and is under the vet's care in order to control it. It kind of creates a worry, not unlike a parent's worries for their child.

I'm presently quite active on another forum as an administrator. With about 5000 members, it gets quite busy, and takes a great deal of time. I may not have a lot of time to post here, but I've certainly become attached to reading the wealth of information and enjoyable comments contained here. I'm pleased to find you.


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## Padunk (Oct 20, 2003)

Welcome aboard.


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## PrincessClaire (Jan 16, 2004)

Welcome to the forum hope you have fun


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## Aonir (Aug 18, 2003)

Welcome to CatForum!


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## kristi (Sep 19, 2003)

Welcome to you and Kiwi. I'm very sorry for your loss of Rom.


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## karaokekat (Jan 14, 2004)

Welcome! We hope you stay around a bit


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## Ioana (Jul 12, 2003)

Hello James - Welcome to the forum 
There is no easy way to say the final good-bye but it is certainly a beautiful thing to pay tribute to Rom talking about him, sharing with other people what a wonderful pet he was. 
I hope Kiwi will get better soon *keeping fingers crossed for her*. I can feel your level of worry - you are right - we are practically parents.
Looking forward to seeing pictures of both of your babies


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## CATTYBIRD (Jan 24, 2004)

Welcome to the forum. <<))


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## kitkat (Sep 22, 2003)

Welcome to the forum! I'm sorry about your loss of Rom, but am definitely glad you took another kitty who needed a home. Hope your new kitten gets better! Good Luck!


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## Empath (Jan 23, 2004)

Kiwi is doing much better. She's got her energy back to a large extent, a healthy appetite, and looks to be on the mend. She's still sneezing, but the vet says she'll probably have the sniffles for a few days. She's an absolute delight.


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## Ioana (Jul 12, 2003)

That is wonderful news, Empath - Kiwi will be 100% healthy pretty soon.


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## Empath (Jan 23, 2004)

I've heard only one sneeze from Kiwi today. She's as energetic as a kitten should be. As is characteristic of youth, she seems absolutely thrilled with life; and is constantly exploring and learning about the world around her.

I'm really quite relieved that she's doing so well. Now I've got to look reluctantly toward Feb 17, the day she'll be spayed. All that keeps going through my mind is a memory of a friends kitten that didn't survive; but I've heard that spaying is generally without such complications.

Anyway, we've got her for whatever time she spends in this world, or she's got us for whatever time we spend in this world. Who could ask for more?


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