Snowball was 5 months old when I brought her home 13 1/2 years ago in 1985. She was a beautiful white Cat. She was so affectionate. My older kids were 8, 7, and 3 years old then. They were so exited, we had never had a Cat before. I had always wanted a white Cat because I had one when I was a little girl that ran away, my Mom made me a Ceramic White Cat so I could always remember her, that was about 27 years ago and I still have the Ceramic White Cat. Snowball always loved to sleep on top of a bunk bed, my daughter and my sons both had bunk beds so she took turns sleeping with them. She sure did have nine lives, we had so many close calls over the years. She got caught inside a car one time and broke her leg and the fan on the car slashed her side about 6 inches long and about an inch deep. She ran away and we couldn't find her, we knew she was hurt because we saw blood. When my kids came home from School she was waiting for them at the door, my daughter franticly called me at work that Snowball was hurt, I rushed home and took her to the Vet. She made it! She had stitches and a cast on her leg for 6 months, she was lucky. Another time, she was missing and I had a bad feeling, I went looking for her and I found her in our back neighbors yard crying. She had a black tire mark across her body, I thought this is it, internal injuries, she's not going to make it, she made it! In 1990 and 1992 I had my other 2 sons who are 6 and 8 now, Snowball immediately bonded with them, we hadn't had bunk beds for a while, since my older kids are all grown up now. As soon as we got bunk beds for my younger sons 3 years ago, Snowball immediately started sleeping on the top bunk with my youngest Son. Last June I was commenting to my daughter how lucky we were to have Snowball and she was so healthy. Then a couple of weeks later we noticed she started loosing weight. My kids kept commenting to me that she looked thin but I just kept saying she looks fine, then one day I had to admit to myself that she didn't look right, so my daughter took her to the Vet and they kept her for a few days to run tests on her, it seemed her liver was not functioning properly. They ran fluids through her for a few days and put her on a special diet, the Vet said either she'll start getting better or she'll start getting worse. Well, she got worse, she kept loosing weight, she wasn't eating and she could hardly walk, but she would still meow by the door cause she wanted to go outside to her favorate place a bask in the sun, but she was too week to let outside. My daughter who is a Manager of a Pet Store, finally told me, "Mom she's not suffering yet but she will, you need to put her to sleep before she starts to suffer". I knew she was right but I resisted, then one day she woke up with puss in her eyes, I started cleaning it out, then more and more and more kept coming out of her eyes, I knew, this is it, I have to put my beloved Snowball to sleep before she starts suffering. My daughter went with me and it was the hardest thing I had to do, she was family, she meowed at me when they put her on the table almost as if to tell me, it's OK, I'm sick. So, she left us July 11, 1998. I cried for days and I still cry when I think of her, I miss her terribly. Then there was "Dumpy". He was such a character. My daughter adopted Dumpy when he was about 4 weeks old, back in June of 1997. My daughter worked for a Vet at that time as an assistant, somebody brought Dumpy in, they had found him in a dumpster, my daughter immediately took to him and named him "Dumpy". Dumpy was the most stubornest Cat you ever knew, he was white and black, he had beautiful markings. He never listened and he used to love to jump onto the kitchen counters and scavenge for food. He was always getting in trouble. Then one day my daughter moved from her apartment and she couldn't take Dumpy with her, she begged us to take him in, my husband said on one condition if you neuter him and declaw him, she said you have a deal. So we adopted Dumpy and boy was it hard at first to get used to him because he had such terrible habits, he loved any kind of people food so he was constantly trying to get food the table, the counter, the garbage, your hand! And he would never listen, we would try to discipline him, but he never listened, he would even hiss at you. Then one day it occured to us that he might be deaf and sure enough he was! That's why he never listened! As the months went by he finally started to settle down, he loved to play and bonded with my Husband like you wouldn't believe. My Husband was not a big Cat lover, he tolerated them. But Dumpy would only sit with him or lay with him, he loved to go in the backyard and play while my Husband watered the yard. He always stuck by him. Dumpy never really went outside unless he was with my Husband, then when it started getting cooler outside he started wanting to go outside, we wouldn't let him and he started getting very moody and mean. Then one night he knocked down all the slates on our vertical blinds in front of our sliding door because he wanted to go outside, he was really rebeling. My Husband finally said we are going to have to start letting him go outside. I was worried about him not having his front claws, but the Vet said they defend themselves with their back claws. So, we started letting him out, and you have never seen a happier Cat in your life. He loved the outdoors, everybody in our Cul-de-Sac loved him. He was so friendly when he was outside. Then he would come inside to eat and sleep and of course try to steal people food wherever he could. He also loved to play, of course only when he felt like it, it had to be on his terms, but he used to love to chase a string with my youngest Son, and he used to love to grab mine or my Husbands hand and wrap his paws around our arms and pretend to bite us. Most of the time he stayed inside at night but once in a while he would sneek out if someone opened a door. The night before last (Monday night,1/12/99) I was taking my older Son to Driver's Ed about 6:15pm and Dumpy did the usual, he snuck out when I opened the garage door. My son tried to get him but he ran away because he wanted to stay out. Usually he would show up again if someone came home or if I opened the garage door and called him. My Son got a ride home that night from Driver's Ed and came home about 9:00pm and no Dumpy. I thought well he did do this a few times before and when I would open the garage door in the morning to take the kids to school, he would run inside. Tuesday morning, no Dumpy. I told my older Son, something's wrong, he should have been here. My Son said don't worry Mom he'll show up. All day I kept going outside and calling him, and no Dumpy. Then last night my daughter went to pick up my Son from Driver's Ed and she left a little early so she could drive around and see if she could find Dumpy. Well he was in front of the Jr High School across the street, he had been hit by a car. My daughter brought him home and her and my Son looked everywhere for his collar with his ID tags and it was no where to be found. I have been so upset, I can't stop crying. My youngest son was sent home from school today because he can't stop crying. My Husband is out of town on a business trip and when I told him Dumpy had been hit by a car, he said, "Is he OK, what did the Vet say?" I had to tell him he died instantly. My Husband is heartbroken, Dumpy was his Cat, he bonded with him more than anyone, it's going to really hit him when he comes home because Dumpy won't be there to sleep with him. Dumpy's death has hit us all hard, I guess because it was unexpected, but I was always uneasy about him being outside because he was too daring, my Cat Snowball was always so carefull, Dumpy was too adventurous, he went to far, I had no idea he was going that far, I thought he stayed in the Cul-de-Sac. I miss him terribly, especially this morning when I came back from taking the kids to school, the bowls they ate their cereal from still was full of milk, Dumpy always finished it, every morning. I think he was taken from us on Monday night 1/12/99, there will always be a void without Dumpy, we will never have another Cat like him, he was one of a kind. We love you Dumpy.