Remembering Floppy and Oliver, Two Special Cats, on Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day

Today, August 28, is a very special day. Deb Barnes, my friend and a past president of the Cat Writers’ Association, created it to honor her Ragdoll cat, Mr. Jazz, after he crossed the bridge and for others to honor their beloved pets who are no longer with them.

Here’s an article that explains what this day is all about.

https://www.newswire.com/press-release/august-28-rainbow-bridge-remembrance-day-created-to-honor

Floppy was the first cat that was mine alone. I grew up with cats, but it wasn’t until I married and moved out of my house that I had a cat who was my full responsibility. Previously, my mother took care of all our pets. It was a little scary bringing home a two-month-old kitten who reminded me of Benny, the gray cat I’d lost to kidney disease at a young age. I soon discovered Floppy, who I’d named after floppy disks (my husband worked with computers, and it was the early 90’s), suffered from asthma. He was put on a course of prednisone. I’m not sure if that’s what later caused his diabetes, but he developed it around seven. He received twice daily insulin injections and went off insulin for a period when he was put on a prescription diet, but, as he grew older, he went back on it and was hospitalized three times for pancreatitis and liver issues. The last time, when he was 15, we had to finally say goodbye. It was a heartbreak. In my sorrow, I wrote a book that featured him as a character in it. I originally self-published it but, years later, sold it to my publisher. The book was Cloudy Rainbow (mybook.to/CR2), a paranormal romance that contained themes of reincarnation, technology, and clairvoyance.

I wrote a short story in 2016 called “The Path to Rainbow Bridge” that featured many of the cats I’ve loved and lost. I wrote this story before I lost my Siamese Oliver, the basis for the cat in my Cobble Cove cozy mystery series, Sneaky the Library Cat. Oliver was only with me five short years because he was my mother’s pet for twelve. I brought Oliver into my home when my mother became too ill to care for him. He bonded with me and my daughter immediately and was one of the sweetest and most lovable of cats I ever had. My mother and Oliver passed away within a year of one another. They will remain in my heart forever.

For Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, I remember Floppy, Oliver, and the cats before and after them — Benny, Kitty, Little Girl, Stripey and others. My short story featured many of them. Here is an excerpt from it:

Old Tom the tabby was at the Gate. Next to him stood Shadow, a black shorthair who had been summoned while sun bathing on the Bridge. Shadow knew the reason Tom wanted to speak with him. It could mean only one thing. Another resident was arriving.

            “Sorry to disturb you,” Old Tom said. “But I’ve had orders from above that another one of Kate Stewart’s cats will be joining us. This time, it’s Sam, her Siamese. He’s had a long life and much happiness with her, but it’s his time. Please alert Kate’s other cats about the new arrival.”

            Shadow nodded his dark head. “I will be on it right away, sir. When is the welcome party scheduled?”

            “Looks like tomorrow morning around 6 a.m. Remember, it takes time for the soul to reach us.”

            “Who will be in charge of the party?” Shadow knew that, according to Bridge rules, the last cat admitted from a human’s family was the next in line to welcome the incoming resident. A year ago, when a car hit Shadow after he stupidly ran out the door.

When his human Ben came home from a doctor’s appointment, there had been no other cats in Ben’s family on the Bridge or at least none that Ben had forged the forever bond with, so Old Tom had welcomed Shadow. Now it was Shadow’s job to notify the last member of each incoming cat’s family until another first-timer was admitted.

Old Tom checked the register he held in his paws. Tom had been supervisor of the cat’s side of RB since he arrived 20 years ago because he was one of the unbonded, those pets who had either been feral, stray, or house cats who had never developed the forever bond, that special connection of heart and soul that united animal and human eternally. In Tom’s case, he had been a stray in the alleys of New York City, living a surprisingly long life of ten years for an outdoor cat.

“Kate’s Floppy was admitted a few years ago,” Tom said. “I think he’s now residing on the north cloud over the rainbow. He’s a gray and white tuxedo fellow. Kate lost him from diabetic complications. It was one of our sadder cases. She administered insulin shots to him for many years and was at his side at the vet’s when the lethal injection was given. She’d had him since he was a kitten, and he misses her dearly but is glad that she found another cat to love while he waits for her on the Bridge.”

Shadow felt a tear wet his cheek fur. He was always choked up when he heard these touching tales. “Thanks, Tom. I will find Floppy and let him know. Although this is the first party he will host, he’s attended enough to know the procedure.” Floppy had already been on the Bridge for eight years, although up there they didn’t keep track of human time.

When I wrote this story, I had no idea that the fictional Sam the Siamese would be my Oliver who passed away shortly after it was written. I was able to get my publisher to offer this story free at that time. It’s still free on Kindle Unlimited and is only $1.49 on Amazon for the eBook. If you would like to read it, I hope it gives you some comfort for the pets you’ve lost. It’s the hardest thing to say goodbye to your fur babies. I know the awful pain of their loss, but I also know the great joy they bring into your home. I adopted two kittens five years ago, Harry and Hermione, and they have filled my heart, although I will never forget Oliver or any of my other cats who came before them.

For those who haven’t read this story and might like to, it has been included in the book, A Mystery Box of Cat Tails.

Although this post is dedicated to my cats, Floppy and Oliver, I’ve also included  photos of two other cats who joined them at various times on Rainbow Bridge and a link to a post written from Rainbow Bridge by Stripey, the cat I lost last year. https://wp.me/p7XcB0-1il

Holly 1995-2003

If you’d like to post a memory of any of your cats, please comment on this blog. If you’ve read my story, I’d also love to know what you thought of it and if it helped you. Thanks also to my friend, Deb Barnes, a past President of the Cat Writers’ Association,  for creating Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day. You may share your remembrance of your beloved pets on the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1450055352462698.