Big Beautiful Love

 

September 9, 2026 ~ The sun came up that morning even though it wasn’t supposed to.

Because you see, the world had changed overnight. The energy in our little family shifted, never to have the same vibrance.

At 1:25 am Wednesday, September 9, I was awakened by sorrowful meowing and unusual breathing. I soon realized it was Kukki, our 9 year old ginger cat. We immediately scooped him up and were on the road to the ER, 10 minutes down the road. He moaned occasionally and then was silent.

I didn’t realize it then, but that must have been when he passed away. Five minutes from the ER.

Once inside he was whisked to the back, only to have an ER Vet appear moments later. “I’m so sorry, Kukki has passed. There is no pulse, no heart beat.”

We were absolutely stunned. Words were not coming out, tears were welling up and shock was setting in. My first lucid thought was ~ How do we tell Drew??  Our 10.5 year old granddaughter bonded with Kukki when she was barely two years old. And although she only visited him a handful of times over the years she absolutely loved that boy. So much so that when she and her parents drove away last June she burst into tears because she didn’t want to leave Kukki.

Maybe she knew something… I had a strange premonition a month or two ago that some day the day will come that we will have to tell Drew that Kukki is no longer with us. I just didn’t think it would be so soon.

We adopted Kukki when he was a year old and he was already 20 pounds.

 

At 9 he weighed in at 24 pounds. He was a big orange bundle of fur.

Kukki was one of a kind ~ a true ginger boy. Funny, curious, mischievous, bossy, affectionate, loving, involved, resilient. He was the poster boy for red tabbies. He was a goofball and did goofy things. He was like the cop on the beat when one of his siblings would have a scuffle. Always there in the middle of things. He was kind of the Gladys Kravitz, the nosy neighbor, of the cat world. 

He was a lover boy. He often sat on Charlie’s lap when he was working. 

He liked to hop on my lap in the evenings and early mornings. 

He sat by the deck door, often next to Kazz, just watching the squirrels and birds come and go.

He had some favorite places to hide from the world – his Taco Truck, cat bed, tunnel, shark, pineapple... you get the idea.

A couple of years ago he was diagnosed with Megacolon. He took his twice daily meds like a champ. He would sit on my lap, wrapped in a towel and open wide for the oral liquids that kept his body working.  

With frequent visits to our Vet Clinic he became a staff favorite. Once when coming of anesthesia he tried to open his kennel door to hop out. In addition he attempted to open the door of his neighbor's kennel. I was sitting in the lobby when I heard a Vet Tech sternly say, "Kukki! No!"

Every cat who has graced our life leaves a special mark. Kukki was such a huge presence, both literally and figuratively. His personality was as big and bold and beautiful as his physical appearance. To know Kukki was to know love... to smile every time he passed by.

Wrapped in a soft velour blanket, he was placed in my arms for a final goodbye. I felt the weight of his body... as heavy as the weight on my heart. He looked so peaceful. Like he had a full belly and was happily sleeping it off.

To say he changed our lives is an understatement. His leaving so suddenly and unexpectedly has been devastating. We have to accept that he is at peace now and his mission is complete.

But I will miss you the rest of my days, my sweet boy. 

The Best Things in Life Are In Shelters and Rescue Organizations

Today I entered my beloved K Team in the 2019 Photo Calendar Contest with the Dumb Friends League. 

I did it for a few reasons. One - Kizzie, the Matriarch of the K Team, was adopted there 4.5 years ago. 

Two - Koko (Koko Loco, Koko Bean, Kokoro - Spirit in Japanese) was adopted there 4.5 years ago.

Three - Kukki (Cookie in Japanese) was adopted there 5 weeks ago.

Kazzy Boy came from another shelter, but he was a shelter kitty, too. 

And years ago our A-choo was adopted from there - about 1993.

I almost entered Kia, 

but then thought - I may never stop. I've had a lot of dogs and cats in my life...

The annual Photo Calendar Contest helps raise a lot of money for the shelter - and it's fun!

The K Team donates food and toys and blankets to the Dumb Friends League and have for years. We donate money when we can. They do good work. Our Vet has volunteered there for years. She does good work.

There are A LOT of shelters and rescues and fosters and volunteers and transporters in the world who do amazing work. I am in awe of them and I am humbled by them.  

It makes me enormously happy to peruse the entries into the Photo Calendar Contest. It is much safer for me than perusing the "Adopt" page. When I am looking at the entries into the photo contest I can smile endlessly knowing that these adorable animals have loving, happy homes. 

And I want to vote for every single one.  Maybe they should expand beyond a calendar and make a book...

Welcome Home, Kukki

This photo is what made it happen.

On June 27, 2018 a notation popped up on my calendar "Take donations to Dumb Friends League." Periodically I go thru the toy boxes belonging to my cats and dogs, any food or treats that are perfectly fine but they've turned up their finicky noses at and donate to shelters and rescues.  

Seven weeks prior we had said farewell as our beloved Kia crossed over to the Rainbow Bridge. We missed her terribly (and always will). She is tucked in our hearts for safe keeping.

But knowing that our three year old, Kazz ~ just a big kitten himself ~ needed a playmate, we were slowly warming up to the idea of adopting another cat. 

No one could ever replace Kia but there are so, so many kitties in the world who need and deserve a loving home... well, we started dropping hints to each other.

Since I was planning to drop off donations at the shelter anyway, something made me click onto "Adoptable Cats" on the Dumb Friends League website. What the heck ~ I'll just look. Right. This is the photo that made me call the shelter. This is the photo I emailed to my Mister saying, "What do you think?" I mean... his name is CHARLIE for cryin' out loud. And so is my Mister's. This is the photo that had us hopping in the car - me with no makeup and my ratty "work at home clothes" and without a lot of discussion or thought we were off to meet "Charlie."

The shelter described Charlie as:

My name is CHARLIE!  

I am a neutered male, red tabby Domestic Longhair.
The shelter thinks I am about 1 year and 2 months old.
I have been at the shelter since Jun 06, 2018.

I am described as A LOVING "GOOF BALL"
Favorite Things: Playtime is the best time of the day; will solicit attention to receive more pets.
Special Features: Loving/sweet purr machine; good with litterbox protocol.
Dream Home: A loving family with no small children that will turn this cat into a fine feline citizen.

His "behind the scene" notes indicated he was aggressive and had bitten someone.  We knew he had been returned twice and the notes said he shouldn't be around small children. Well, when I see "aggressive" and "small children" I see red flags and my first thought is - what did the small children do to him?

We visited with Charlie for about 10 minutes. He was adorable. A big chunk of a guy who was playful, purring, happy and easy going. There was zero indication of aggression. Sure if a cat gets overstimulated playing he may give a little love nip; but then you stop playing. It made me sad to think that such a great cat would have his chances of adoption diminished because previous owners were inexperienced in how to handle a kitten. 

Enter us.

One thing about my Mister and me? If we meet a dog or a cat at a shelter there is a 99% chance they're going home with us ~ no matter what their issues may be. In Charlie's case, that meant we knew we needed to work with him and help him lose weight. We didn't care. All 20 lbs of him was coming home with us. And we knew he wasn't aggressive. He was a kitten.

I've had A LOT of cats in my 63 years and this guy? Not one of them has adapted so quickly, so seamlessly, so happily to a family of two humans, two dogs and another cat. Today marks one month with us and it's like he's been with us forever. We did change his name because having two Charlies in the family seemed a bit confusing. And since we have Kizzie, Koko and Kazz, we searched for a K name. We settled on Kukki - which is Cookie in Japanese. And it suits our sweet boy - Kukki.

Sometimes it is just meant to be. Sometimes I get it right. 

Welcome home, Kukki.