Farewell, Riley

I tried to do this last night, but the limerick wouldn't come. I think part of me really didn't want to write this post, because now I have to really admit that Riley has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. He was far too young to leave. Riley and Tiki were born in a friend's garage on May 23, 2006 and joined their forever family 6 1/2 weeks later. Kesey, the dog, welcomed them. That's Kesey's pink pig that Riley is with in the photo. It's Kesey's favorite toy and he used to bring it to Riley sometimes. See, Riley loved his sister Tiki and his Mom and Dad, but he adored Kesey and Kesey adored him. Riley gave Kesey kitty kisses every day and Kesey sometimes gave Riley a bath. They played chase very often. I told Riley's story and wrote him a limerick here. The main thing that has happened to Riley since I wrote his story is that he discovered the joys of strollering. He got to go out whenever Kesey went for a walk. When the magic word "walk" was uttered, Kesey ran to his leash and Riley ran to his stroller. Tiki hasn't yet wanted to get in the stroller. Now comes the really hard part. Riley seemed to be having a little trouble breathing, so his Mom and Dad took him to the vet, thinking he had a kitty cold. The vet didn't like the sounds he was hearing from Riley's chest and kept him overnight for observation and tests. The next day, the vet decided that Riley had a lot of fluid in his chest and was inserting a drain when Riley's heart stopped. The vet got it going again, but by that time Riley had no brain function, so they let him go to the Rainbow Bridge. They vet now thinks that there was more in Riley's chest cavity than fluids, probably lymphoma, which could have been crowding his lungs and heart. This is terrible. Riley was such a loving cat, full of mischief and enthusiasm. He is leaving a huge empty space in his family.

                                      Riley was such a lover boy
                                      He filled the entire house with joy.
                                            The very air was fraught
                                            With the laughter he brought.
                                      Oh, how he'll be missed, this marvelous boy!

Riley

First, there is some more bad news. Felix over at Whiskers and Purrs has been diagnosed with FIP and will probably be going to the Rainbow Bridge later today. Please go give his Mom some hugs and purrs, as she is very upset.

I'm glad I get to do a happy post before I have to do another sad one. Above you can see Riley in one of his sister Abigail's dresses. When Abigail got this brand new dress, Riley decided that he wanted to try it on. Once he was in it, he didn't want to take it off. Naturally, this upset Abigail a bit, as it was her new dress. I think they eventually got it all sorted out and Abigail got her dress back. Riley is considered the baby of the family, as he is the one who still acts the most kittenish at times. One of his favorite games is chasing the vacuum cleaner and mop around when the Mom is cleaning. He loves to find sunspots on the patio. Riley has the loudest meow of all the Turkey Cats and he is the one who announces dinner. When the Mom and Dad have finished their dinner, Riley knows that it is time for Turkey Stinky Goodness. He hops on top of the TV and meows his loudest until he hears the Mom in the kitchen getting the Stinky Goodness ready. Riley is also a very loving kitty and he gives nose bumps to show his affection.

                                  Riley wanted to try on Abigail's dress.
                                  She decided to let him, though it caused her stress.
                                          "It fits to a T!"
                                          He thought gleefully,
                                   "Though if I try to keep it, she will use duress."

Riley

This is Riley with Kesey's pink pig.  This pink pig is Kesey's favorite toy, but Kesey sometimes brings it to Riley.  Riley isn't quite sure what he is supposed to do with it, but he seems to like being near it.  Riley and Tiki are two kittens from the same litter who were born to a friend of their Mom and Dad on May 23, 2006.  The Mom and Dad had been very sad because Vincent, the cat who came before, had gone to the Bridge recently.  When Riley and Tiki were 6 1/2 weeks old, the Mom and Dad brought them home.  Riley and Tiki were a little bit scared and cried in the car for about ten minutes, then went to sleep.  When they got to the house, they were a little overwhelmed and explored just a little bit, then napped some more.  By that night, they were raring to go and made a lot of noise.  They still like to play and make noise at night.  This gets them kicked out of the bedroom, especially on weekends, but mostly they spend the night with Mom and Dad.  Riley tends to get kicked out much more often that Tiki does and sometimes Tiki starts missing Riley and gets herself kicked out to join him.  Riley is a little bit bigger than Tiki now, but not by much.  Riley loves to play with both Tiki and Kesey. Riley really loves Kesey and will give him kitty kisses all the time.  Kesey gets tired of this at times, but puts up with it.  Once, the Mom and Dad went on a vacation.  Kesey went to stay with his favorite woofie friend, Snoopy, and Riley and Tiki stayed home, being cared for by a relative.  When the Mom, Dad and Kesey came home, Riley was so glad to see Kesey that he gave him a squillion kitty kisses, while standing between Kesey and the door to the back yard.  Kesey got a little uncomfortable, because he had to go outside to take care of business.  Kesey was very good and waited for Riley to finish with his kisses.  Riley has discovered that he likes lettuce and teryaki sauce.

                                        Riley adores his woofie Kesey.
                                        He gives kitty kisses until it gets messy.
                                              Kesey disapproves,
                                              But Riley never moves
                                        Until he is done giving kisses to Kesey.