I have two adorable pets, a cat, Marty, and a foxhound, Twister. We love them!

Marty is probably 14 years old. He used to be a feral cat, but we turned him and his brother, Klyban, and their mother into indoor cats. Klyban and Marty were very fond of each other, almost inseparable. They played, and when they rested, slept together.

Mamma Kitty

Klyban playing inside a cardboard box

One morning, about 3 years ago, Mamma Kitty suddenly vomited blood. My husband rushed her to our vet, but he called me to give me the sad news: ” Mamma didn’t make it.”  We miss her a lot. She was an amazing cat, who loved to play with her toys. Many times we heard her meowing to them as if they were her children.

Unfortunately, last year we lost Klyban to lymphoma on June 26, 2019. Losing him hit me and my husband very hard. I’m sure that his death affected Marty, also. Marty was not himself for several months, and I realized that this behavior was probably due to missing Klyban. I can understand how Marty must have felt. I cried rivers when Klyban passed away and found it very hard to not see him sleeping on my bed, on the recliner, and sofa;  walking around the house; and playing with Marty. For several months, every  time I thought about him, tears flowed from my eyes because I no longer had him. ( I experienced the same feelings when Mamma died, but at least she didn’t suffer from undergoing cancer treatments.)

My husband and I spend as much time as possible with Marty after Klyban’s passing because we understood that there was a possibility that he was still grieving. It wasn’t until recently, perhaps this past month, that Marty started to act like himself. He sleeps and has become very affectionate. This behavior probably means he has accepted the loss of  his sibling. (I’m not done with losing Klyban or Mamma; however,  Marty and my husband keep me happy, and so does our foxhound, Twister.

Twister

Twister is a rescue dog. When we found him in our backyard, he was very sick.  We took him to our vet and learned he had steroid responsive meningitis. Twister underwent treatments and survived, and now he’s been part of the family for approximately 11 years. 

My final comment or recommendation on National Pet Day is to love and take good care of your pets. They love you unconditionally and make your life merrier when it hits a rough spot.