Kitty Doughnut Tattoo

 

This is a memorial/good memory tattoo I had done over the weekend in honor of Mar. He loved doughnuts so I thought a kitty doughnut would be appropriate. Of course it has to be cute and fit in with my cute foods theme. The tattoo was done by Buddha over at Born to Lose located at 1009 McHenry Ave, Modesto, CA 95350. Go to him/his shop for a friendly staff and a clean shop.

In Our Hearts Always - Remembering Mar Friday

Today Mar would have been seventeen. A day I thought we would see together, I really thought he would beat kidney disease after all, he beat cancer. He fought to the end and if he could have been here longer I know he would have.

There are so many memories. So much can happen - good and bad in sixteen years. I think about him everyday. The living room still has a handful of his toys scattered about, his perch has not been touched...I cannot bring myself to move or pack up anything. I finally displayed and arranged his memorial with his ashes. I am still working on it - as I feel it is not complete. I plan on buying a shelf to display his favorite brush and toys. Where he used to sun himself on the window seat I started framing and grouping photos of him. When I am alone in the living room I look at his stuff and ask out loud if he is around. At night when I hear our house creak and settle I often remember the sound of Mar jumping down from his perch to get into bed with us, that loud thump on the floor that signaled he was on his way. I would move over, make room as I anticipated him jumping on the bed.
Sometimes I like to pretend/think/imagine his fur in my fingers, the way he would partially sit in my lap as not to crush me, the paw on my leg wanting a bite of pasta...The smell of his fur, the lump that was just a fatty tumor (that I prayed over when I found it) on his leg I would knead like a rosary.
I light a candle for him every night. I talk to him, ask him to help me survive another day, help kitties and how much I miss him. I cry, I get angry when people ask me about getting another cat, I walk into Matt's office and bury my head in his chest and I tell him how much I miss Mar for the hundredth time...

 

  When he first got his perch. This was his fave place to hang out.

Matt wanted to share some memories as well. Matt and Mar had a special bond that allowed Mar to climb up on Matt's chest and sleep there. Mar also had a way of getting Matt to share his food, that would annoy some but we found humorous. Matt won me over with his cat love and all the love he showed Mar. This is from Matt:

What Kendy's blog is doing is one of the things I enjoyed most with Marilyn which was
sharing him with other people. I always loved it when other people got to meet Marilyn,
particularly my younger cousins; which only happened twice but for some reason they really
stick in my head. One of my fondest and funniest memories is a cousin who must have been 5 or 6
years old seeing Marilyn by our front door. Marilyn let her pet him but wasn't giving her any purrs.
She was so amazed how big and fluffy Marilyn was and when she went back in the car I could hear
her tell my aunt how she just saw a big fluffy cat. I love that. People were always amazed how big
he was and how good he looked for his age. In the end, this is a sad sentiment I'm sharing since he
no longer can be shared in the physical world but with this blog and our memories he continues to be
shared in a different realm.

Mar left these huge paw prints on our hearts, on every heart he met he left something behind. People I would have never met unless it was due to cat talk are now my friends, they hug me and ask me how I am. I love sharing memories of Mar, I will always share these memories.

Mommy will always love you Mar.

Honoring Mar's Memory By Helping Kitties Thursday

Yesterday I dropped off 17 kitty sized blankets at the library which is collecting them for the Snuggles 
Project. They were just simple fleece blankets cut out with pinking shears but cats seem to love cuddly fleece and I hope it helps some kitties in need. At the library I noticed they have a pet photo wall for the month of March. I am going back this week with a photo of Mar to stick up.

Tomorrow I plan on donating some money to the cat charities that we stand behind. It is not a lot but at this time of year funds will be really needed because of kitten season. I am in the process of trying to tnr some of my neighborhood ferals that came over to visit Mar at times. I do not want to see more kittens on the street.

Before losing Mar I would donate every week to charities, hold bake sales to help cats and collect blankets for shelters/rescues. I continue to do this because there are so many animals in need. When people ask if I want a new cat, or have I gotten a new cat (which angers me) I tell them 'no, that the feral cats and cats in shelters keep me occupied'...

If we all just took a few dollars out of our pocket to donate, or collected newspaper and blankets for a shelter or donated time, more animals could be rescued. Honor those friends that you lost or the friends in your home right now by helping out those that are not so lucky.

Paw-sta For Mar - Wednesday Memories

I would always joke that Mar was a cat version of Mario (Meowrio) Batali. Mar loved Italian food, from pasta to pizza – he would go crazy for it. One of his favorite things to eat was Daiya cheeze. Every Wednesday when I made a batch of vegan stove top macaroni and cheeze he would get excited. When he smelled anything he liked he would wait near Matt’s office door meowing to be let in since I bring food into Matt’s room so he can unwind after work on the computer.

Once I pre made a pasta bake and Mar smelled the noodles baking and ran to Matt’s door, not realizing daddy would not be home in hours. He was pretty bummed out.

Pizza – it had to be Daiya cheeze a bit of sauce and crust for him to be happy. Occasionally he would eat the Trader Joe’s brand but the Daiya made him purr the most.

Mar was not really one for sweets, he occasionally nibbled a baked good like a muffin but when it came to doughnuts – well you better be prepared to share and by share I mean he demanded most of your doughnut. His fave was the vanilla glazed vegan doughnuts from Whole Foods.

We discovered Mar’s doughnut addiction one night early in Matt and mines relationship. Matt’s mom sent home a doughnut, Matt put it on the coffee table of the apartment, we went to go get into our comfy clothes, came back to find Mar with the bag on the ground and ripped open, eating away furiously on his catch!

That was not the first time Mar “hunted” the second apartment we lived in was on the first floor. One night Mar ran out as I took out the trash. I called him for an hour, searching for him. When I got back, I found he pawed open the screen door and had someone’s foil wrapped ribs on the ground. I had to pull him off the food…

Within the first few months of living in our new house Mar was playing in the backyard. I went to get something to drink, came back and found Mar hunched over something. I was worried it was a bird, I screamed for Matt to get it away. Turns out it was a hot dog, I do not know where he found it but he was pretty pissed when we took it away from him.

Mar was not all meat and vegan cheeze. He loved avocados – I would make a smashed up piece of avocado for him calling it guaca-mary. He also had a crazy love for sweet potatoes. He loved sweet potato baby food, fries and baked with a bit of coconut oil! I would sometimes bake him little sweet potato bites for a snack.

Some of these food memories are my most favorite of Mar. I love sharing them and making people laugh. Enjoy the recipe for pasta bake below.

Paw-sta Bake

(reprint from TSAHG #5)

1 jar of MARinara sauce

1 package of penne pasta (you can omit about a handful – if your pasta overflows the pan!)

1 package of vegan Mozzarella cheeze

olive oil for baking dish

Preheat oven to 350. Cook your pasta according to package instructions. Drain. In same pot, mix pasta, pasta sauce and cheeze together. Dump into a oiled 8X8 baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes, uncover bake for 5 more minutes then turn on the broiler and broil for a few minutes to get cheeze gooey! Take the pan out of the oven and let it sit for a few minutes.

If your broiler is still on why not make a loaf of garlic bread while your pasta sets? You have a winning meal there!

Cats On The Radio - Tuesday Memories

So many questions, and they ask me if I'm still down
I moved up out of the ghetto, so I ain't real now? - 2Pac

When Matt is driving music is always on, it relaxes me and helps me be in the passenger seat. Matt and I both have eclectic music taste so a random car ride can bring up old school hip hop to middle eastern music. One thing that connects all these songs together is my insistence that cats be worked into the lyrics somehow!
I think we both enjoyed picturing Mar in rap lyrics, especially 2pac and Biggie Smalls. Something about Mar being a cat thug just made us laugh. I bought a bandana and cut it down to size so Mar could wear it...I think in the above picture he was channeling a young Snoop Dog.
Best Coast's lyrics "I wish my cat could talk" from the song Goodbye always hits home. Whenever that song pops up I remember Mar and wishing we could have conversations. I think they would have revolved around food, but it would have be interesting. Before I fall asleep at night I send thoughts of love to Mar and tell him that wherever he is I love and miss him. If he is out there (which I believe we all leave a piece of ourselves behind) I hope he hears me and knows how much I miss him.

Celebrating Memories Of Mar - Monday

Friday March 7th would have been Mar's 17th birthday, a day I thought we would celebrate together. I was planning on releasing a zine this Friday but decided to take some of my ideas and writings and post them on my blog instead. I want everyone to be able to remember my best friend and share some cat love.

Days like these that are cloudy with rain in the forecast I like to nap. Mar like most cats liked to nap as well. I liked picking Mar up and carrying him to bed and stretching out next to him and sleeping. It was very comforting to me to hear his purr, feel him breathing in and out and pet him to we both drifted off.
In the winter Mar kept me warm. Our first apartment together was pretty drafty. When the calendar marked November and our apartment had no heater we would both get under the blankets to cuddle. Mar liked having the blankets on him. He loved playing under them while I made the bed. He preferred to get on top of all of the blankets and on occasion on top of Matt's chest.
Mar also liked my pillow. Matt would tell me to move him when I could not get comfortable. However I never did and had neck pain the next morning. He also loved sleeping in the crook of my knees, if I would move, he would get angry and let me know (claw or meow or sometimes both).

The bed feels empty. Sometimes in the middle of the night the blankets bunch up behind me and for a split second I move gently thinking it is Mar. Then the realization hits me and my heart hurts. Matt has had visions of Mar in bed and I have had realistic dreams of him...I believe it is him, letting us know he is around.