Date Night with Carma........

Carma and I had a date last night. We sat on the balcony in the mild summer weather - Carma occasionally nibbling her catnip plants and me sipping red wine. Later we came in and watched the movie "Her" by Spike Jonze.

We are trying our best to muddle through the grief over losing Gus. This week I attended a grief support group at Paws Chicago for those who have lost their beloved animal family members. The counselor was joined by the owner of the Hinsdale animal crematory. I bonded with another member of the group who recently lost her dog and we ended up going to volunteer orientation at Harmony House for Cats the following night. 

I still grieve for Gus and don't foresee a day when I will ever stop missing him. We had a once in a lifetime connection for which I am so grateful.

This was Gus's bed, but on this day Carma decided she had to be with her brother and wedged her big body in his bed.

I love Gus's expression "Hey there is a cat in my bed".

Carma in the afternoon sun - like brother like sister.

These were some of my favorite times with Gus and Carma - lazy weekend afternoons. After they ate lunch they would find a sun patch and curl up for afternoon naps while I worked on art. I do miss these moments and I think I always will.

Carma has not been the same since Gus died. She goes into the closet - a place Gus would go when he wasn't feeling well. It is concerning. They were together 16 years and survived being thrown out of a moving car in a bag together with their other litter mates to being adopted by their first kind human - who died of terminal cancer less than 5 years after adopting them. They were placed in a shelter together for a year before I met them - and yes - it was love at first sight. I went there for one cat and ended up with two. And I was lucky enough to be picked out by them.

Summer without Gus.....

All I have to say today is that I miss my Gus and so does Carma. I finally got around to getting catnip plants for the balcony last weekend. It was the only thing I had the energy to do the entire weekend and it was just another reminder that he isn't here. Even Carma doesn't seem to be enjoying the plants as much as she usually does - instead, she has taken to going into the hall closet and under the chairs on the balcony - both of which were Gus's places. It causes me great concern regarding how she is doing with the loss of her brother - who she was with for 16 years.

I miss seeing them both wedged into pots of catnip as they blissfully would fall asleep in the sun.

Gus in Catnip Planter

Carma in Catnip Planter