All beautiful stories begin with "Once upon a time"...Miss Hunny Bunny's story is just so. Once upon a time, seven years ago, a skinny white cat appeared in the cozy cottage garden...just days after we were certified a Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary. God, who created all creatures, wasted no time in bringing her needs to our attention. I called out to her and she looked in my direction, stopped and sat down. There was left over chicken breast from dinner and I hurried inside to cut it up. Served up in the Frisbee, she quietly walked over for a smell. She took a piece in her mouth and walked down the cobblestone path to the side of the cottage. Soon she came back to do this again...not eating any for herself...just carrying the bits off somewhere. I followed her and saw her jump up and over the tall wooden fence. Peeking through the knothole, I saw her drop the bits into the grass as slowly there emerged three tiny kittens from the crawl space of the vacant house next door. Her beautiful kittens...hungry kittens. Now I understood why she did not take any food for herself...she was such a wonderful mother and my heart melted at that very moment. Dennis soon removed one of the fence pickets so they could come into our yard for their food and water, but most of all for sanctuary from the world. They would all be safe here with us in our garden. As the days came and went, I could begin to tell that Hunny Bunny was a special kitty. Attentive to her kittens she seemed to be such a relaxed cat. I began to think that she might have at sometime been someone's kitty...but was now a homeless. We were soon able to catch them all (except one kitten who ran away) and get them spayed and neutered. Bunny's kittens were adopted out to a sweet lady who took them both... Bunny stayed on with us in the garden that summer. As the weather began to get colder, we made a shelter for her in a larger Rubbermaid container fitted with a big heated pad and blanket. One cold winter day Bunny came to the back door and was looking inside the kitchen. I could not resist opening the door for her to see what she was going to do. In she walked...looked around the cottage...found the bedroom, then up on the bed she jumped, lay down and took a nice long nap. I let her back out that night and the next day she came back to the door again...and I let her in. I LET HER IN to my heart and promised her that I would love her forever if she wanted to be our cat. I said this was a Cinderella story and in some ways it is. Later a new family of cats came to the garden. Mean old Scrappy Cat and her mean little kitten were like the wicked stepmother and stepsister in the story. Bunny had to suffer when she went outside because they were so jealous of her great beauty and sweet nature. She stayed inside more and more but soon discovered that the front yard was safer and better than the back yard where the wickeds lived. In every season Bunny loved being out in the front yard. I would watch out for her through the big front parlor window, always making sure she was resting sweetly in the flower beds. Last Sunday she was so happy to be out there...the daffodils blooming all around her. Then suddenly she no longer asked to go out...stopped eating and drinking...sleeping in odd places. I knew something must be wrong. Friday I called our vet and took her in for help and lab work. The dreadful phone call with the worst news nearly broke my heart. Her kidneys were no longer functioning. Dennis and I made the tearful final gift of love to her that evening... Her ashes will come home to us this week and we will place them next to the dogwood tree she loved to sharped her claws on...next to her bunny family she loved to sleep by.
Hunny Bunny leaves a legacy of quiet gentle compassion in our hearts. A gentle soul with refined manners. Sweeter and more loving than any cat I have ever known. She owned our hearts and we knew her for just a little while...but oh my goodness it was a happily ever after while it lasted. Thank you all for being on our journey with us over those years...we treasure the memories...they will comfort us on the dark days ahead.
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| Hunny Bunny was a cat for all seasons |
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| thank you Ann of Zoolatry for this sweet graphic |
YOU are somewhere in the heavens now, in the laps of angels.
Your light still burns bright in the window where YOU used to lay
I know YOU are watching over me...YOU were the creme in my coffee
I cling to this, a verse from my favorite TV series and try to dry the tears
