Sakura

 

Sakura, in Japanese, means Cherry Blossom.

 

I don't remember much about my life before I met Helen and Bill, but since that time everything has been great.  Lots of petting, purring, feeding and sleeping.

 

I guess that Helen and Bill lived in a place called Guelph, Ontario before they ended up here in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.  They honeymooned out here and moved here shortly afterwards.  When they moved here, with my friends Skye and Nekodé, they had visited Bide Awhile Animal Shelter and--lucky for me--found me amongst the many kittens that were living there, waiting for adoption.

 

I dominated my new home from day one, causing nothing my trouble as I explored my surroundings.  It was a massive apartment, on the fourth floor, but it was hot and I had to contend with two other cats, Skye, a kind and gentle old black cat, and Neko, a shy and timid orange cat.  Skye didn't let me push him around, but Neko was a pushover, so I bullied him; and still do 11 years later.  Although I bully him, I do, very much love Neko and would defend him if anyone ever tried to harm him.

 

Helen and Bill moved to a house in Dartmouth five years after adopting me, and I was glad they took me with them.  I was also glad that they adopted--again from Bide Awhile--another cat.  They named this new grey friend KiaOra; I'll let Kia explain his name.

 

Kia and I became immediate friends and we are always seen snuggling together as we sleep on the table, couch, dresser, pretty much anywhere cats sleep.  He's great.

 

It came as a surprise to all of us, when one day Helen and Bill brought another furry friend home from Bide Awhile.  They named this one Keemone; a strange name for a strange cat.

 

Keemone tried to take over my role as bully, but I quickly put a stop to that.  He is now a funny friend who lives to chase reflections of light.  I even saw him jump about 7 feet in the air one day to catch the red light that was reflecting off of Bill's glasses; weird cat.

 

Our world stopped one day though, when we started to sense something was wrong with our friend, Skye.  He was limping more and more because of arthritis in his legs, and he was also seeming to slow down alot (ie. we weren't allowed to play with him anymore, as he would protest by hissing at us).  One day, when Helen and Bill were cuddling with Skye on the couch, we other cats left them to be alone, cause we knew what was happening.  Bill had to leave for a meeting and laid Skye down on a towel infront of the heat register (where Skye loved to sleep during the cold months--which would cause constant sinus infection).  All us cats went to Skye immediately and stayed with him, knowing the end was near.

 

He appeared to suffer a stroke at some point during the evening of March 24, 2013 and Helen and Bill decided it was time to help Skye get away from his pain.  They took him to the Metro Animal Clinic, and we never saw our beloved friend again.

 

Three weeks later Jack came into our lives.  We made fun of him at first, cause he didn't have a strange name like the rest of us; and because he stayed hidden for weeks on end as he got use to the new place and smells.  But Jack is out now and we spend many hours sitting on the back of the couch trying to decide which bird would taste the best and wondering when Helen and Bill will be coming home (or getting up) to feed us.

 

We have a loving and caring home with the Zebedees, and I, for one, would have it no other way.