I am playing a bit of catch up here for an incident that happened just before the flurry of activity that happened with the adoption of Marissa.  Back on February 6th Mark and Mommy had to go to his Genetics appointment in London to determine which type of ichthyosis skin condition he had.  The appointment was three hours long and in fact a waste of time because in the end the doctor decided that the testing would only tell us what we already knew.  Prior to the appointment Mark and Mommy dropped off our beloved cat Hitchy Bum a.k.a. "Itchy Bum" per Mark, at the veterinary clinic for an ear infection.  His condition was chronic so we were not too concerned when he did the usual head tilt, shaking of his head and droopy eye behaviors which made me aware that he needed to go for a check-up and medication.  We dropped off Hitch with Mark saying "See you later Hitch.  The Doctor will make you feel all better.  Be good".  Mark was so sweet saying good-bye and telling the Vet to "Fix him so he isn't sick anymore".   We planned to pick him up after our doctor's appointment.  You have to love a Vet that will cat sit while you run errands!  So, imagine my horror when I called the Vet to say we were on our way back and was told the sad news that Hitch had a tumor growing in his ear causing the eye droop and the infection like symptoms.  In fact perhaps early evidence of the chronic infections may have been the start of the tumor.  Needless to say it is hard to say good-by to a family friend at any time but even more so when this friend is a beloved family member.  Hitch was a one of a kind model.  He was a wee kitten in the barn that I rented just after I headed off into life on my own.  He was one of many barn kittens but he stood out in his total lack of fear of humans and his desire to be a part of our family.  When Doug would come and visit this little kitten would follow him all around in the barn and narrowly escaped death when Doug went to give the grain to the horses and Hitch got stepped on by a Belgian draft horse!  Doug brought him home to me as he clearly had a dislocated hip and was unable to walk properly.  I nursed him back to health and give him the name "Hitch" because of the "hitch" in his get-up-and-go.  Needless to say after a week or so Doug decided that I had one house cat too many and brought him back to the barn.  Poor old Hitch was not happy and tried to climb over the Dutch door to follow Doug home.  When I noticed he was sick with respiratory problems I brought him back home with me and Doug learned early in our relationship that when it comes to cats, I do not take orders!  However...back to the story.  I called Doug and explained the situation.  He suggested that I tell them to put the cat down and he would pick up the body the next day.  How to explain the missing cat to Mark seemed to elude him.  Some how this just did not feel right. When it comes to my children I have a firm rule...I will tell no lies. Life comes with joy, sorrow, beauty and ugliness.  I pulled over into a parking lot and explained to Mark the hard truth about death and doing the right thing for a friend.  I said that the doctor could not fix Itchy Bum and that he was in pain and really, really sick and that eventually he would die.  Mark understood very clearly when I told him that Hitch would be "put too sleep" and that it was a sleep that he would not wake up from...ever!  All the while I was fighting the tears and trying not to show him my distress.  Mark seemed to take this very well and then said..."It's ok Mom, he can go to heaven with Grandma and Grandpa...They can take care of him."  He also said "This makes me feel sad".  Such truth from a four year old!  I shared that it made me feel sad too.  So together we went to Aylmer and held Hitch while he made his way to Gandma and Grandpa.  Both the Vet and I were in tears as Mark petted his head and said "It's ok Itchy Bum...you can go to heaven...you will not have any pain anymore...Grandma and Grandpa will feed you".  That was it.  Other than a few questions and comments about Itchy Bum being in heaven and that he was not going to wake up anymore, Mark accepted death as a natural course of life.  What a wonderful little boy to be so connected to his emotions and to be able to express them so openly.  The next day on February 7th we were asked if we were interested in a little girl that was available for adoption if we were interested!  Wow, how things changed quickly.  Over the next few weeks with interviews and meetings I hardly had time to even think about poor Hitch who waited quietly in the garage for the spring thaw and for burial!  After much thinking, I decided last week to bury Hitch under the cedar trees that serves as a "pet cemetery" by myself.  There was no point in bringing it all to the surface with Mark again.  I shed a few tears and said good-by to an old friend.  Mark will remember his first real buddy through this blog.  Good-bye ol' Itchy Bum...you were a one of a kind, kinda cat!