Funky Mama

Funky Mama died this month. She was between about 16-17 years old. Cynthia brought her home from the farm when Funky was just a kitten. Over the years, Funky had kittens and then was spayed so she would not have any more kittens. She lived a long happy life, we think. Always had food and a nice warm place to sleep. Throughout her life, she was teased tremendously by Tonie's two kittens, Roman and Bernice. Eventually we had to let the kittens go because of the allergic reactions to their presence. WE simply could not let Funky go because she was getting older so we kept her. Then Cynthia got married and her husband is allergic to cats. We had to cover the couches, make sure Cyn's bedroom was as clean as possible, and generally take steps to lessen the allergic reaction for Kyle. We even thought of putting them up in a hotel because we felt so bad for him. BUT, we kept Funky because she was getting old. WE also kept Kyle, too. :)

In the recent years, Funky has gone through several dogs. First there was Peanuts, cockapoo, who really got along with her. Peanuts knew not to tease her or chase her. Then came Buster, miniature schnauzer, who had a difficult time controlling himself at first and tried to chase her. Buster did eventually learn that he could chase every cat he saw BUT Funky. Then came Vinny, Robbie's miniature pincher. Vinny never did learn that he should not chase funky but Vinny was smaller than Funky and did not dare push his luck too much. Then came Simon, our Yorkshire Terrier, who tried to sneak in a chase while we were not looking. Simon and Funky just tolerated each other, Simon giving her a wide berth. Then came Mikey, miniature pincher and Vinny's younger brother. Mikey has tried to play with Funky on many occasions and we are thankful that Funky was declawed. Otherwise, Mikey would have had ribbons for ears. Despite all the dogs she had to deal with, Funky ruled the house. She even took over Simon's bed. Towards the end, she became much more comfortable in being petted by Robb and Me. She would eat from Robb's fingertips, and purr really loud when Robb held her. We did not know what was wrong although I kept watch on her food dish which was not emptying. Funky generally came and got us to show her the food dish and to have us watch her eat. She did not do that and we wondered where she was. It was way too quiet and she had not come to get us. We found her asleep in the front room. She kept quiet. Then when we got home after work, Robb saw her lose her balance as she tried to walk into the bedroom. We all panicked and picked her up. We watched her but it did not look good. Of course we had to let everyone in the family know. The next day I missed work so I could try to get her to eat but she would not. That night, she passed away sometime between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. when Robb saw her and told me that she had passed. I often wonder if there is a heaven for animals and whether they are part of our lives after this life. I guess we will have to see. Now we have Simon at home. I wonder if he misses Funky or even wonders what happened to the cat that lived in the house and used his bed.