Amazing Amira her Life and Death

Rest in peace, my lovely one, thank you for the love you gave us. We will never forget you.

 "We must learn to live together or perish together as fools." Martin Luther King

When we arrived in Kairouan 2013, many lovely cats came to our house to welcome us, among them the gorgeous Amira, white with orange and dark brown patches. She chose us and we chose her, love at first sight! A very sportive little darling who liked climbing on roofs, in the beginning not easy for me to watch, always happy to have her return safely to spend the night with us and during the day checking that we are okay, a real treasure! When the young lady decided to get engaged, she did so at least four times, as far as I could see. We provided the food for the short- lived engagement and as Amira was our first Tunisian cat, there was no need for "family planning" at that time. So in May 2013 Amira gave birth to Tiger, Sandy, Bijoux and Soleigh. All looking differently, only Bijoux resembling mummy (this is usual here). Amira allowed me to be present a great experience. Her babies were so cute. Tiger and Sandy, meanwhile eight years old, are still living with us. Bijoux suddenly fell ill and died in November 2019. Soleigh, a beautiful white feline with yellow patches went outside in Sept. 2019 and never returned, most probably stolen, as we tried in vain to find her and she had no reason to stay away. One day, my husband was sleeping, Amira decided he might as well be her babysitter and brought her babies, one after the other, to him in bed. (My hubby just continued snoring) Great girl pity I didn't make a video. I studied her education method: watch your kittens, interfere only when it's necessary. Don't scream at your babies, show them that you care for them and that they are very special to you. Gentle mothers have gentle well behaved kids/kittens. We moved to Sousse, Amira and her family got a new home and had to adjust to a different life style. The street with all those cars, motorbikes, racing from time to time around our house, we considered too dangerous for our little treasures, as a substitute we offered two terraces, the big one on the roof. One day Amira ran out on the street and returned after a little while. When her children were old enough we had the whole family operated. Amira stopped liking her gentle son, even though a bit of a gentleman with other cats, I guess she feared he may see her as the female rather than just mummy. So we separated them. The vet discovered that Amira had just started to fall pregnant again when she operated her. We hadn't expected this and felt very sorry for our little darling. She had lately changed her way with her kittens, maybe so they perhaps leave and make space for a new family? Anyhow, it turned out that she wasn't very happy with us accepting more and more cats in our house - nothing we originally planned. We didn't buy them but we were and still are confronted with street cats needing help or simply folks dumping their unwanted felines at our door step. So depressing and irresponsible. Anyhow, beautiful Amira decided to leave us. She walked out, only returned once for a bit of food and another time to day hello from the roof of a house opposite. I tried in vain to persuade her to come down and live with us a again. It hurt so much. For some time we tried to find her in the neighborhood. Not very long before she left we discovered a lump on her tummy. The vet diagnosed that the growth may be cancer. We had her operated, actually twice. Our sweetheart unfortunately did not think that she would need to be looked after much. We felt so helpless. Time passed, after 18 months we had to fear the worst, leaflets with her photo brought no result. Nobody seemed to have seen her anywhere. A few days ago an adult cat, looking tired, sick and dirty, came to my house, calling me. I did not recognize Amira at first, her voice had also changed. I felt so happy to have my wonderful love back. While combing her fur, I was shocked to see a new big growth on her tummy, shaped like a thick cone, looking bloody. Amira refused to eat, just drank water. She had pain. We contacted an animal surgeon. The blood test showed that her kidneys were not working as well as one would wish, age and living rough took its toll. While the operation would be recommendable, it's not without risk. We decided to take the risk. All went well, but Amira again refused to eat, just wanted to drink a lot. I cooked chicken with rice and carrots for her. She just took the broth. The veterinary gave her an infusion, also the following day. It started to look promising, but then Amira had a lot of pain. On account of her kidney problems we were advised not to give her any drugs. I cuddled with her, stroked her fur, gave her a massage, fell asleep holding her. She enjoyed it, but her pains remained. She collapsed on the toilet, I gently lifted her on her bed again. During the three hours I slept my lovely precious darling passed away. I can't describe the loss I feel, she didn't deserve all those pains. I am grateful for the love she gave and all she taught me.