This is Leonardo. He was my odd-eyed Domestic Longhair. (Odd-eyed meaning one blue, one green.) I was always fascinated with odd-eyed white cats, and feel very fortunate that this one was in my life. I estimated his birth date as being March 5, 1990. He's the first cat I had that I bonded so closely with. Before you ask, no he wasn't named after actor Leonardo DiCaprio -- I don't think that actor was even well known when I got him! My cat was named after one of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", who in turn were named after Renaissance painters. (I've never been good at coming up with original pet names, so I decided that my next pet would be named after one of the Turtles!) His nicknames were: Leo, fluffball, fluffmeister, fluffkins, fluffernutter, His Royal Fluffness, and sometimes grumpypants (during his later years). Leonardo came into my life 8 months after losing Sunshine. I was vacationing in Alabama, visiting my then boyfriend Mike. We went to a mall & I started crying after seeing a kitten in the pet store window who looked JUST like my Sunshine. Two days later we walked to the video store and were on our way back when I heard a loud "meeeeew!!" There was this little white bundle of fur near the off-ramp of a highway, crying to get my attention. I picked him up, and he kept jumping out of my arms. I told Mike I wasn't going to leave him there because he could get killed out there! I finally got him settled down so I could carry him back to Mike's house -- we stopped for kitten food on the way. It was obvious the little fellow had been abandoned, because he was starving! I hadn't planned on getting another cat, because after Sunshine's death I didn't think I'd ever want one again. But after spending the week with this tiny white ball of fur, I got too attached to him & couldn't come home without him! I went through a lot of trouble to bring him home, and he was well worth it! Because of the way I found him, to this day I still believe he was sent to me. Having learned my lessons between Fluffy always getting beat up, Muffin having kittens, Corky disappearing, and Sunshine being hit by a car -- Leonardo was my first neutered and indoor-only cat. (I'm a firm believer in spaying/neutering now!) I didn't think my mom would allow me to keep him indoors at all times -- but at his first vet visit, when the vet asked if he'd be an indoor cat, my mom surprised me by immedately responding "yes". (Side note, this was also the first cat I had who went for regular health checks & vaccinations! Some years after I got him, it became a state law for all cats to be vaccinated for rabies.) I had estimated him to be about 3 months old, and the vet confirmed he was 3½ months. Leonardo lived for 12 years. During his last few years with me, his personality changed a little. If I went away even for just an overnight trip, or went out & came back very late, he'd hiss at me! He'd also do this if I went to see him in his favorite basement window too late in the day. This is what earned him the occasional nickname of grumpypants! The day after Leonardo's 12th birthday, I found him sitting in the basement stairs with his foot swelled up 3 times its normal size. I called the vet to make an appointment as soon as I got to work. I found out it was his whole leg that was swollen, not just his foot. (I couldn't tell because of all that fur!) To make a long story short... After several vet visits and being put on a couple different medications to try to make him better, a biopsy was done & he was diagnosed with a form of cancer known as lymphosarcoma. He came home looking like Frankenkitty with his leg full of staples and sutures on an open wound where his foot was too swollen to hold it closed with staples. Because of that open wound, he was sent home with an Elizabethan collar -- that plastic thing that looks like a lamp shade when it's around the animal's neck. He absolutely HATED it! He became very miserable, and I think that's what caused the cancer to spread so incredibly fast. He was gone approximately 2 weeks later. He'd stopped eating, but was put on prednisone a couple days later when he expressed an interest in food -- this was also when the vet gave the OK for the collar to be off as long as he was being supervised. It was two days after that when he left me -- on April 30, 2002. He died here at home. He was supposed to go to the vet's that afternoon to have the staples removed -- I had a feeling it was time to make the decision to have him put down, but never thought he wouldn't even make it to the vet's. I had him cremated -- my dad had to drive me to the vet with his body, because I was in absolutely NO condition to drive. When I arrived at the vet's, he came out to offer his condolences -- he was crying, and hugged me. I appreciated everything he did to try and make Leonardo well again. If you'd like to visit Leonardo's Rainbows Bridge residency OK, so why are you listening to "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"? I used to sing that to him, but with these lyrics: For he's a really big fluff ball, for he's a really big fluff ball, for he's a really big flu-u-ff ball, which nobody can deny! Which nobody can deny, which nobody can deny! For he's a really big flu-u-ff ball, which nobody can deny! I must have literally hundreds of photos of Leonardo! (You don't have a pet for 12 years and love photography as much as I do, and NOT end up with that many! That, plus I wanted to make sure I would have lots of photos to look back on & bring back memories for the day he was no longer with me.) I've set up thumbnail galleries like I did for Sunshine. Click one of the images below to visit Leonardo's Gallery. Spay/neuter graphic courtesy of The Dog Hause -- click on the image below to visit their site.
This is Leonardo. He was my odd-eyed Domestic Longhair. (Odd-eyed meaning one blue, one green.) I was always fascinated with odd-eyed white cats, and feel very fortunate that this one was in my life. I estimated his birth date as being March 5, 1990. He's the first cat I had that I bonded so closely with. Before you ask, no he wasn't named after actor Leonardo DiCaprio -- I don't think that actor was even well known when I got him! My cat was named after one of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", who in turn were named after Renaissance painters. (I've never been good at coming up with original pet names, so I decided that my next pet would be named after one of the Turtles!) His nicknames were: Leo, fluffball, fluffmeister, fluffkins, fluffernutter, His Royal Fluffness, and sometimes grumpypants (during his later years). Leonardo came into my life 8 months after losing Sunshine. I was vacationing in Alabama, visiting my then boyfriend Mike. We went to a mall & I started crying after seeing a kitten in the pet store window who looked JUST like my Sunshine. Two days later we walked to the video store and were on our way back when I heard a loud "meeeeew!!" There was this little white bundle of fur near the off-ramp of a highway, crying to get my attention. I picked him up, and he kept jumping out of my arms. I told Mike I wasn't going to leave him there because he could get killed out there! I finally got him settled down so I could carry him back to Mike's house -- we stopped for kitten food on the way. It was obvious the little fellow had been abandoned, because he was starving! I hadn't planned on getting another cat, because after Sunshine's death I didn't think I'd ever want one again. But after spending the week with this tiny white ball of fur, I got too attached to him & couldn't come home without him! I went through a lot of trouble to bring him home, and he was well worth it! Because of the way I found him, to this day I still believe he was sent to me. Having learned my lessons between Fluffy always getting beat up, Muffin having kittens, Corky disappearing, and Sunshine being hit by a car -- Leonardo was my first neutered and indoor-only cat. (I'm a firm believer in spaying/neutering now!) I didn't think my mom would allow me to keep him indoors at all times -- but at his first vet visit, when the vet asked if he'd be an indoor cat, my mom surprised me by immedately responding "yes". (Side note, this was also the first cat I had who went for regular health checks & vaccinations! Some years after I got him, it became a state law for all cats to be vaccinated for rabies.) I had estimated him to be about 3 months old, and the vet confirmed he was 3½ months. Leonardo lived for 12 years. During his last few years with me, his personality changed a little. If I went away even for just an overnight trip, or went out & came back very late, he'd hiss at me! He'd also do this if I went to see him in his favorite basement window too late in the day. This is what earned him the occasional nickname of grumpypants! The day after Leonardo's 12th birthday, I found him sitting in the basement stairs with his foot swelled up 3 times its normal size. I called the vet to make an appointment as soon as I got to work. I found out it was his whole leg that was swollen, not just his foot. (I couldn't tell because of all that fur!) To make a long story short... After several vet visits and being put on a couple different medications to try to make him better, a biopsy was done & he was diagnosed with a form of cancer known as lymphosarcoma. He came home looking like Frankenkitty with his leg full of staples and sutures on an open wound where his foot was too swollen to hold it closed with staples. Because of that open wound, he was sent home with an Elizabethan collar -- that plastic thing that looks like a lamp shade when it's around the animal's neck. He absolutely HATED it! He became very miserable, and I think that's what caused the cancer to spread so incredibly fast. He was gone approximately 2 weeks later. He'd stopped eating, but was put on prednisone a couple days later when he expressed an interest in food -- this was also when the vet gave the OK for the collar to be off as long as he was being supervised. It was two days after that when he left me -- on April 30, 2002. He died here at home. He was supposed to go to the vet's that afternoon to have the staples removed -- I had a feeling it was time to make the decision to have him put down, but never thought he wouldn't even make it to the vet's. I had him cremated -- my dad had to drive me to the vet with his body, because I was in absolutely NO condition to drive. When I arrived at the vet's, he came out to offer his condolences -- he was crying, and hugged me. I appreciated everything he did to try and make Leonardo well again. If you'd like to visit Leonardo's Rainbows Bridge residency OK, so why are you listening to "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"? I used to sing that to him, but with these lyrics:
If you'd like to visit Leonardo's Rainbows Bridge residency
OK, so why are you listening to "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"? I used to sing that to him, but with these lyrics:
I must have literally hundreds of photos of Leonardo! (You don't have a pet for 12 years and love photography as much as I do, and NOT end up with that many! That, plus I wanted to make sure I would have lots of photos to look back on & bring back memories for the day he was no longer with me.) I've set up thumbnail galleries like I did for Sunshine.
Click one of the images below to visit Leonardo's Gallery.