Recently I have been working with pictures of Miss Bean and the painful memories of losing her. Looking at Smokey and how happy and healthy he is, I feel grateful that these things our out of our control.   The fact is, if Miss Bean had not lost her fight with FIP on the exact day that she did, I would not have been able to adopt Smokey and he would not have made it into the trial.  A sobering thought.  But I think also a way to help heal the pain of losing a cat/kitten by seeing the good that can be made/found from such loss.  

Losing Miss Bean was so unbearably painful.  By choosing to let that loss lead me to Smokey, I found a way to deal with my pain at losing Bean and also help another beautiful kitten as well.  So far, he has beaten astronomical odds and brought us so much joy.  For however long we have Smokey, I just need to look at him and I know the good times always make the pain worth bearing.   To lose a loved one is painful beyond words.  But to lose the ability to love is tragic.   

This is a very long video of Smokeys journey, from the day he came into our lives (one day before I was to pick up Miss Beans ashes), through his treatment, and up until the present.  Having watched Bean slowly lose her battle with FIP, and then seen Smokey go through the ups and downs of the trial, his recovery is still almost unbelievable to us.   I have been adopting kittens for over 30 years and I have never seen such a stoic tuff little kitten, remaining fearless and trusting throughout his long ordeal.   This video celebrates Smokeys amazing journey so far. We want to give this same chance to all FIP Warriors and that is why we created ZenByCat.  This music, A Beautiful Distraction by Michele McLaughlin is part of the amazing album Waking The Muse.

I am reposting this video of Miss Beans Story as well.   I can now watch it in its entirety, though not without tears.   Bean was also a tuff little kitten.