I am absolutely amazed.  My cat Deuces died the second week of December, from some type of toxic poisening, something he was given to eat by the person he trusted in his life more than any other, he was two years old.  My best friend and female cat, Spottygirl died less than a week later.  Im still crying about that she was with me for 19 years, after she quit eating, having the same symptoms Deuces did,  as old as she was, she had remained a pillar of strength, she had been the only survivor of a pride of cats that had caught pneumonitis when she was but four weeks old.  Then through a neighborhood outbreak of FIP, again she and her mother Tippy were the only survivors in the whole neighborhood when she was 8 months old.  She was with me when I had half my skull removed, when my neck was broken in four places, when I went blind with a bilateral paplidemia.  When I was paralyzed in a wheelchair told Id never walk again or play guitar again, she   NEVER, left my side.   Spottygirl outlasted my ex husband, and my daughter, only eight when I became Spottys pet,  my daughter now has four children, the oldest 12, still spottygirl remained by my side, and through all the hell I ever went through.  How can you put a price on that?  When in Washington state, my roommates connived to steal all my music equipment and throw my belongings out in the rain,  they sought to keep Spottygirl from me, going so far as to get a restraining order to keep me from the house because you know they knew they had an ass kicking coming for stealing all my stuff, I  howled at the moon tears running down my cheeks because I was forced to leave with out my cat. 

I came back a few days later, with a hand drawn picture of spottygirl and a note to put into everyones mailbox except the house where  the ones who wanted very badly for me to go postal on them lived.  Three days after that my old neighbor called me, said Spotty had been coming around, to please come by around dark.  So I did, brought my big cat carrier for her with my long flannel nightgown in it I had been  wearing at night for a few days,  her little fluffy pillow in it and  a small tape recorder with my voice recorded on it talking to her.  After an hour of not finding her, I decided Id better go, he had to work in the morning and I was going to the ASPCA and humane society to see how they could help me get my cat back.  I noticed as I was pulling out, someone was standing by the corner of my old garage, by the ember of a cigarette waving around.

At this time, I still had Spottys mother Tippy, a silver siamese, Spotty was a pastel shaded calico, both with long hair.  I was able to get Tippy, but Spotty was wary of people she didnt know, and this time of year there was 2 feet of snow on the ground, she was an inside cat.  The ignoramus's where I used to live KICKED her, literally out into the snow, and that incensed me even more.

Three days later the same neighbor called me and said, Spottygirl was outside, but being very wary.  I jetted right over there stopping long enough to get a can of tuna fish on the way.  She played CHASE me for 20 minutes with me, and finally, I told her we had to go to come on, I crouched inside the door with the tuna inching it inward until she came through the door.  As soon as I had her in my arms, her eyes registered it was me, and she grabbed hold of me and was not letting go.  The feeling was mutual.  I thanked the neighbor profusely, and headed to the car with my daughters fiance, we got a block away and here come the sheriffs dept.  arresting me for breaking a restraining order,  I went to jail, but my CAT WENT HOME!!!

I was there all weekend, Monday finally came and the judge was looking over the courtroom, I was surrounded by people who were busted for drugs, drunk driving, beating their wives, stabbing their boyfriends, and when the judge finally asked why I broke the restraining order thinking some domestic violence lay in store, I asked the judge if he were owned by a pet.  He said, he had a dog, I asked if he was close to his dog, he said closer than to his wife.  The crowd laughed.  I told him, they stole my music equipment, and a lot of my other belongings, sewing machine, clothes, etc.  But BY GOD they drew the line when they stole my cat.  That was 12 years ago. 

If spending three days in jail would be all it would take to have my Spottygirl back, Id do it in a heartbeat.  Id spend longer than that.

But never again, will I find her waiting in the window for me to pull up.  Never again will I feel her next to me purring gently, never again will she wake me up to answer the door. Never again will I be able to bury my face in her fur and cry.

Never again.

How can you put a price on something that precious.  I feel like a member of my family was murdered.

My best friend for 19 years.

I AM SO TOTALLY ANGRY AT THE CHEAPNESS of THE QUALITY OF FOOD, AND THE DEGRADING WAY MY SPOTTYGIRL HAD TO DIE.  And though I even took her to the emergency pet clinic on the weekend, and was given medication for her and  specific food to force feed her with a syringe, she still knew better, batting away the poisen that was killing her.  My family all told me to have her put down.  I was so selfish, to hold her for just one more night before I finally had to have her euthanized.   Im crying right now as I write this, Spottygirl died a week before Christmas.  I had a heart attack a few days later.

When I was called  to do the TOXIC PET FOOD RECALL, I had more at stake than a low paying wage job.

And as I find out more and more information, MY FOCUS, stays with the murder of my best friend.  You'll see what I mean in my next article, "PET FOOD RECALL NOT OVER, PEOPLE FOOD RECALL JUST STARTING."