A tribute to Dina

A week and a day ago my family faced a very sad day....our cat of 19 years, Dina Dominique, died in my arms after trying for about two weeks to save her life and give her some extra quality of life. She deteriorated so much it was very sad, all three of us were crying...

We got Dina a few months after going on holidays as a rescue cat from the shelter when she was about 6 months old. She was super skittish but she'd definitely chosen us as her family. She did things to prove this like walking the edge of the tops of hedges (that should BEND) with TWO bells on and STILL catch birds and then deliver them happily contributing to her new family :). She's always been prim and proper but she's always loved cuddles, she loves prayers, she understands when you feel like crap and want cuddles but she totally has her own mind. She was a tabby cat, white with a few tortoiseshell markings on her. She was thin and agile and reminds me of a certain kitten I fell in love with (her name is Zoe).

Dina came into our home after we had to say goodbye to the cat that tried to kill me (out of jealousy) when I was little, Little One.... I loved Little One...I carried Little One in my arms and to the vets after she had been run over and helped her with her awkward convalescence.... we missed Little One a lot and inspite of my father being allergic to cats, Dina came home and she got her name after two gymnasts Dina (from Russia) and Dominique (from the USA) for her agility and ability to seemingly get into crazy small spaces.

Awhile later we bought home a kitten at 6 weeks old, Cara, and Dina had to get used to sharing her family...not too happily to begin with...she was terrified of this tiny ginger kitten and would hide in the bathroom! Eventually they talked and on one of the times that Cara ran outside (and they're both indoor cats), Dina was pacing and very unhappy with this situation....we couldn't find Cara and in the end we let Dina out and SHE found her little sister...and boy oh boy did she give Cara a talking to. Needless to say, Cara doesn't really go outside anymore, Dina would LOVE goign outside (on a leesh) but Cara flops onto her side or just gets the back door and looks blank like "why would anyone go out there where you have to WORK instead of being pampered and spoilt inside!" They loved each other and I was very worried that with Dina dying, that Cara wouldn't cope....my mum and sister both believe that Cara knew and said her goodbyes and she's going okay.

But anyway, Dina was so unwell, so so unwell....she's lived with my sister for the past 4 years because we had to move out of our childhood home and I've missed Dina (and Cara) like crazy. How I wish I could've had her live with me...except my housing situation doesn't allow for it right now and I don't think I could've taken them away from my sister who needed their company as much as I did. Now my sister's housemate loves the girls as much as we do which is good, its nice that they've had a good home. But even after being away from her for four years, I feel her absence more keenly because I don't get to see her again until we meet in eternity...Dina and Little One together... I just pray they're keeping each other together.

So last Monday, we took Dina to the vet, my sister couldn't hold her (she's not great with unpleasant situations), mum was holding my sister and I had the honour of holding Dina which is exactly what I wanted to do. She died almost instantly and I held onto her for at least five minutes afterwards. Now she is buried down at my grandparents house with the beautiful (and muchly valued) miniature rose I was given by a dear friend during my recent time in hospital...it was the only gift I could give her that was worthy of her life and her sacrifice for being there for us for so long (and the tears are about to start streaming down my face)...

So here is a picture of my beautiful and beloved girl...