In Memory of our cat Burma

by Angela
(Wichita, Kansas)

Burma came to us during the Kansas City Flood of 1993; we answered a 'free to good home' ad. A local company had found her on their doorstep, malnourished, scraggly and pregnant. They took her to the vet, removed the kittens, had her spayed, updated her shots and had her tested for leukemia, then put this ad in the paper. She was a beautiful lithe smoke grey kitty with huge golden eyes. Her paws and ears were tipped wth silver, she looked just like one of those oriental cat statues. She was always quite proper and sat in a most elegant ladylike fashion. It was days before her name came to me, they had called her Sophie. It just did not fit, it might have had something to do with my great aunt Sophie who was not an elegant lady. Anyway Burma became cat #2 in our household, she tolerated Chaz who was after all there before she was. She was patient with our two girls who were 7 & 8. She became mine. She sat in my lap in the evening, always stretchng out her paw towards me as if to ask permision. She was very vocal, telling me stories in her raspy meouw as long as I would make comments. She was the perfect companion. In 2006, I noticed strange behavior, she would lose her balance, her right eye looked funny and she seemed to have trouble eating. The vet gave her antibiotics and she regained some energy. She still walked crooked and she began to drool. We believe that she had some sort of stroke. The vet said that we could continue to treat her with meds as long as she was not in distress, but I chose to let her keep her dignity. Whenever she groomed herself she just spread saliva all over, if she could have seen herself she would have been horrified by her appearace. Our vet came to the house and gave her 'the shot' right where she slept on the sofa. She peacefully went to sleep. I still miss her, my beautiful Burma.