TRIXIE'S PAGE 1995  -  November 3, 2002 Trixie was my best friend and like a daughter to us. We miss her deeply. She will forever be in our hearts. Sue, Mike and Philip Urban Virginia, USA

Trixie came into our life 7 years ago. My son Philip and my mom were
visiting his cousin's house.  They saw Trixie walking around outside.  She had
no where to go - she was abandoned by a neighbor that moved.  My mom, who has
3 Dogs, took Trixie home and kept her in her bedroom away from the dogs. She
tried to find a home for Trixie, but couldn't. She asked me if I could take
her until she found a home, but at the time I wasn't aloud to have any pets
in my apartment.  My mom asked if I could just try to keep her for a week,
until she found a home.  So, on my way home from work I picked Trixie up.  My
husband and I agreed to not get attached, because it would be hard to part
with her.  When I got to my mom's house, she had Trixie ready in a cardboard
pet carrier.  I didn't look in the carrier much, until I got home.  Once I was
home, I opened the carrier and out peeped the sweetest little face.  My
husband and I couldn't resist, we fell in love with her from the start.  She
was so loving and cute.  She immediately started purring and cuddling.

A couple years later, our friend's cat had kittens. He wasn't able to keep
or find a home for them.  He drove to our home in Pennsylvania.  He said he
had kittens, outside, in his car and mentioned that he's going to have to
take them to the pound.  So, of course my husband and I looked at each other
with fear.  My husband said to me "I'm going to go check on them in the car".
Sure enough, about 5 minutes later they were in our home.  Trixie was
confused, she didn't know what to think. The cats were all identical - they
looked like Russian Blues.  Within no time Trixie started grooming them.  She
took care of them as if they were her own kittens.  We eventually found a
home for 3 of them and we kept 2 (Tommy and Pokie).  Trixie became a fulltime
mother to Tommy and Pokie.

About a month later, my husband was offered a job in Virginia. We packed
everything in our home.  The home was completely empty.  But, when it was time
to go, we couldn't find Trixie and Tommy.  Pokie was ready to move but not
them.  We seared every corner in the home.  I had friends looking for them.
Our cats  wouldn't go outside, they were house cats they, plus it was
snowing outside. I was worried that they got scared from the moving and ran
a way.  After hours of searching the neighborhood in the freezing weather.  I
went back to my empty home and cried, until I heard my husband say "hear
they are".  They were hiding under the kitchen sink. I was so relieved that
they were safe.

Trixie and I had a system.  Everyday when I came home from work, I would look
at the front kitchen window and there she was looking out the window.  By the
time I opened the door, she was would be at the door to say hello.  And every
evening, after we ate our dinner, her and I would kick back in our chair and
relax together.  If I had a stressful day, being with her took all of the
tension away.  She had a way of putting me to sleep when I would hold her.

She was a lady - she never swatted or hissed at me.  But sometimes she would
have to protect Pokie.  Our cat Tommy is a big cat.  He and Pokie always play
together and sometimes Tommy will play a little to rough with Pokie.  Trixie
would always keep an eye on Tommy and Pokie.  She would stop the playing when
it got to rough for Pokie (just as a mother would).

We've had so many wonderful days with Trixie. She's brought a lot of love in
our home.  We're thankful for all the years we were able to spend with her.
She was always full of love - even when she was sick.

I year ago my husband and I noticed Trixie's sides looked large.  We took her
to the vet and they ran several test.  We found out that she had PKD.  We took
Trixie home and we bought her a water fountain and we put her on special
diet for PKD.  She loved her water fountain, but she didn't care for the PKD
diet.  So, we gave her the things she loved.  Trixie still acted like herself
and we were very hopeful that she would live her life without pain.

Then 10 months later, we noticed that her sides looked smaller.  We were
optimistic, thinking that a miracle happened and that our dear littlie
Trixie was getting better.  About 2 weeks later, she started hiding and not
eating. We tried everything, but she couldn't eat.  We took her to the vet,
hoping that they could help her.  But deep down inside, we knew she was too
sick.  The night before, she was hiding in our bathtub were she was making
some uncomfortable little noises.  That night, I did notice her coming out
one time to check on Tommy and Pokie, even though she was ill.  We were
devastated, we couldn't let her suffer.  She was my best friend and like a
daughter to my husband and I.  We miss her deeply.

Sue Urban