In loving memory of Wii

Wii passed away on Sunday morning. It has taken his adopter and my dear friend, Roselin, two days to grieve and mourn, and rightly so, as we all need to grieve and mourn before we can come to terms with our loss. I was in shock for the whole of Sunday too, and I would only write about it yesterday: http://myanimalcare.org/2014/02/17/the-privilege-of-being-a-free-roaming-cat/

My daughter and I wound Wii and his sister, Vixey, in a rubbish heap at the playground in October 2007. Someone must have put them there and it was the year-end rainy season. They were so tiny, and yet, Wii was spitting and hissing at us, protecting his sister, Vixey.

We brought them home and after about 10 days, Vixey had a brain trauma and it turned out that Vixey had a congenital brain degeneration problem.



Vixey survived the brain trauma and came home after 4 days. Wii continued protecting his sister until she passed on after 2 years.

After that, Wii only had Tiger as his friend. But Cow & Bunny proved to be too territorial and started chasing him out of the house into the back lane. We intervened and protected Wii but he was too afraid of Cow & Bunny.

I had to rehome Wii for his safety and happiness. He was then about 3 years old.

Roselin, my dear friend, agreed to take Wii.

Roselin spent almost a year settling Wii in. She had an amazing amount of patience, love and commitment and never gave up on Wii even though it was quite hard settling him into her household of cats. Wii couldn't have been in better hands.

Soon, Wii adjusted and became the "taikor" of Roselin's house. From the timid cat that he was in our house, he was now the reigning taikor in Roselin's house!



Wii had a great life at Roselin's. Her whole family adored him and Wii continued being the caring and protective cat that he was.

Roselin reminisces:

Thank you so much for this beautiful message. It brought back all the beautiful memories of Wii when he first came here and his lovely transformation since then.

It took a while but by 2012 he finally allowed us to carry him without any resistance and to cuddle and kiss him.

Wii is certainly protective and caring. One night I saw him following Princess, my oldest female cat of 13 years old to a neighbour's house, which was one house away. I realised he was making sure she walked safely on the street kerb, jumped over the low wall and reached the house because he promptly came to me when I called him back (he always come when I call his name). I suppose he chose Princess as the special one because Wii, Princess and Doraemon are the only three cats my brother allows in his bedroom when he comes back (once or twice/week).

I will take comfort that Wii is now with Vixey.

Thank you for your trust in me to care and love him. Wii enriched our lives.

On Sunday morning, Wii wandered off into the back lane, somewhere he'd never gone before. He was attacked by wild dogs and Roselin immediately brought him to the vet's.



The photos above were taken at the vet's. Wii seemed alright and could urinate. X-Rays showed he had no ruptured organs. He could even get up and meow at Roselin. But by nightfall, Wii's WBC shot up. The vet administered antibiotics, but Wii probably passed on in his sleep that night. Roselin believes Wii passed on peacefully. I think he did too.

When it is time to go, we will all go. And when we have been good all our lives, as Wii had been, we will go peacefully.

Death is inevitable and though the living will grieve and mourn, we must remind ourselves that death is only an end of a beautiful journey. Remember the wonderful memories of a lifetime. Death is only a moment. And what's left now are the beautiful memories.



These are some of Roselin's favourite photos of Wii - Wii waiting for Roselin to come home and climbing his favourite tree.



Wii loved his special spot on the pillar. He was dubbed the "Security Cat" by Roselin's family. Always the ever-protective cat.

What a wonderful life Wii had and I am personally very, very grateful to Roselin for having taken him and given him so much love and care. Wii couldn't have been in better hands.

Thank you very much, Roselin and famly.

Be free and happy, Wii, and we know you will take good care of Vixey!

You can shed tears that he is gone,
or you can smile because he has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that he'll come back,
or you can open your eyes and see all he's left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see him,
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember him only that he is gone,
or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back.
Or you can do what he'd want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
- David Harkin