Our Fig is Gone Forever...

Life is so hard sometimes.  You have something you love and then it is gone forever.

Monday evening, Eric and I were in our small group.  When we got home, Autumn said that she had heard a cat fight and when she went outside to see what was going on, she found Fig under the car.  When she came in, she seemed ok.

The next three days, she didn't eat or drink.  She was very lethargic and barely moved from place to place.  I thought maybe she was just sore inside possibly from fighting.  She didn't have any wounds.  She seemed to be sensitive on her one side when we touched her.  

I hate sharing these photos.  It is a reminder of hurt and sickness and suffering.  It makes me incredibly sad.  I just want to share this post and never look at it again.

I just wanted her to know I loved her.  I wanted to hold her and for her to feel comforted.

Oh Fig.  I wish I had known.  I wish you could have talked to me.

On Thursday, she seemed much worse and started to walk wobbly.  I made an appointment at the vet for 10am to take her in.  Autumn used a medicine dropper to give her some water.  We had coaxed and coaxed her to eat and drink and she wouldn't touch it.

We spent a lot of time petting her and lying with her and talking to her.  I honestly thought maybe she was in some type of shock from the trauma of possibly fighting.  I wanted her to know we loved her and wanted her to get better.

Thursday night, she had gone to lie under our bed, a normal place for her.  Around 12:20am, I hear a meow.  I jumped up and started looking for her.  I finally found her by the back door lying down crying awful meows.  Autumn heard it and came out.  I have a hurt back and I'm not able to bend over to pick up anything so I called for her to come pick her up.  She did and she meowed a few more times.  She lay her on a blanket on my lap.  She was seizing and had a little foam at her mouth.  I was crying and crying.  We got Eric up and he called the closest emergency vet.  By then, she was only taking a breath once in a great while.  Suddenly, her little body seized one last time and stretched out and then she was gone.

It's one of my worst memories and I wish I couldn't remember it.

I wish it had never had to happen.

No, Fig, no.  You were too young.  You left us too soon.

Our Fig was gone.  She left this world at about 12:25am on Friday, February 24, 2023.

Summer found baby Fig in our front yard all by herself.  She was guestimated at the vet to be about 2 weeks old.  She was a tiny thing and her little face was scabbed up and she was dirty.  At that time, there was a cat that lived under our neighbors' home that we think was her mama.  Being so close to our house and they were the same coloring.  After we found Fig, we named the other cat, Mama Fig.  

We took her in to help her and Eric said, We are keeping this one!  This was the third kitten we found and rescued that summer.  He said we aren't giving her away.

So we took her to the vet and got her healthy and well.  She was so tiny and boy, did she grow.

The vet originally told us she was a boy so we named her Figaro after the cartoon cat of Gippetto on Pinocchio.  After the next visit, we found out she was actually a girl.  LOL!  We kept the name Figaro and nicknamed her Fig for short.  

We found her on September 7, 2021.

August 24, 2021 - February 24, 2023

1 yr and 6 months as our Fig

The girls and I stayed up after she passed.  We took turns holding her and saying goodbye.  She shared sweet and funny memories.  I found a box and we wrapped her up in a blanket and placed her in the box.  The girls didn't want to go back to their rooms so they slept on the couch together for the rest of the night.

I eventually fell back asleep around 3:30am.  I was chilled and just couldn't get warm.  And couldn't stop crying.

When I woke up three hours later, I literally sobbed.  I think in times of grief, there's nothing else you can do.

A first memory was opening my Bible and seeing my chewed-up bookmark.  Figgy always loved to chew up my bookmarks.

But oh, what a wonderful promise!  God will wipe all our tears from our eyes!  And no more death!!

Sweet Summer put flowers, a toy, and her favorite treats in her box.

Eric dug her a grave site in the backyard.  Where she would go to play with our feral, Brownie.  In the summer, you could find her sleeping in the cool spots under the rose bushes.  She also loved to watch the birds and chased the butterflies all day long. Yes, she was born, raised, and lived her short life right here in this little spot in Newberg, OR and that is where she needs to be laid to rest.  

We wrote her letters and put them in her box.

We Facetimed Addie at college so she could be a part of it.

We all shared memories and stories around her grave.

Oh Fig, we will miss you so much.  You will leave a deep hole in our hearts and lives.  Your sassy and spicy way made us laugh.  You had a soft spot for love - you just wanted it to be on your terms.  LOL!  I will cry and cry for several days.  Just knowing you won't be running when you hear the scoop of food hitting your bowl and enjoying snoozes from bed to bed during the day.  I will end up seeing reminders of you every day.  And I will remember fondly my dear Figgie.