Dummy's Memorial Page (Written by our Mommy)
Rest in Peace, my Sweet.

The Beginning:


We had just semi settled in in our new surroundings in Hight Point, North Carolina. Pumi and Susi were getting used to the extensive heat and high humidity which they had never been accustomed to in Germany. One day, my sister Gesa and I, noticed that both of our cats were playing with a tiny little white ball. We looked closer, and then we saw two huge bright blue eyes surrounded by white fluff staring at us. It was then that we realized that our normally so hostile Pumi-Catz were taking care of a tiny little furball! The kitten's ears were infested with ear-mytes to the point where all you saw were little black things. Its fur was stained yellow and brown, and on its nose it had cuts and bruises that you can see on most stray cats. He couldn't have been more than 12 weeks old, and already thrown out on the street to fend for himself. Gesa and I both lost our hearts to the little critter in no time. We fed the little white devil, and played with him for hours. We were extremely proud of Pumi and Susi because they were playing with him as well, and giving him the kind of love he needed so desperately at that time. But the more time my sister and I spend with the little thing, the quicker we realized that this little kitty was getting very sick. The ear-mytes were only getting worse, and the worm investation also became appearant. We realized: This kitty needs a home quick, otherwise he's doomed. But we had one problem! One very big problem! Our Parental Units! We knew that they would be more than against another cat, and would never allow it! So Gesa and I spent all day trying to figure out a way to convince our parents. We ended up doing the sneakiest and meanest trick ever to the both of our Parental Units: When my mother was in the kitchen doing dishes, Gesa and I told her about the little kitten we found, and how it needed a home, and how our two Pumi-Catz loved the little thing to death anyway. For about 15 minutes, our mother fought and fought, and came up with one reason after another about why we coudn't have another cat. Yet Gesa and I had long thought of explanations and workarounds for all these "reasons", and soon we noticed that our mother was getting weaker in her persistance. And this is when we made our move! The oh so nasty, slimy, sneaky, backstabbing move! I ran outside, grabbed the little white furball, and ran back into the kitchen. I held the kitty up straight infront of our mother's face. And there it was: Those huge, big, beautiful bright blue eyes, staring our mother straight in the face, and then, one quiet little begging "Miow". That was all it took! Our mother grabbed the little goober, and fell in love with him right away! To convince our father was much easier, since our mother had already allowed us to keep him. And finally, it was all settled: The little white furball with the blue eyes had a new home!


The first few hours inside our house, the little white thing ran around and crawled on top and underneath anything that popped up in its way. Then he found an armchair in which he settled down. The kitty then slept for 3 days straight. Without opening it's blue eyes, without eating, he just didn't move. The poor thing must have been so exhaused from all the sleepless nights he must have spent underneath the big bush outside, constantly in fear of danger and being frightened by strange noises. He recouperated quickly though. We found out very quickly that there was something very strange about this kitty. He wasn't scared of the vaccume cleaner! You could throw a toy (such as a little jingly ball), but if he couldn't see the toy, he wouldn't go after it. Lot's of little things like that happened which led to us giving him his name. Because he seemed a little stupid, and did very stupid little things, we called him "Dummy". As soon as he was strong enough, we took him to the Vet for the first time. The Vet told us that white cats with blue eyes who are not specific breeds are always a mistake of nature and stand no chance of survival, and he advised us to put this little furball to sleep. We would not think of it. The Vet ran some tests on the little thing, and the outcome was that the poor little innocent furball had a severe case of ear-mytes, a severe case of long-white-worm infection, and worst of all: The little thing was deaf! Again, the advise from our Vet was to put him to sleep. We would not hear of it. We gave him his medicine everyday, and cleaned out his ears with special ear-myte oil for months. Then finally, at the next Vet visit we were stunned. After extensive tests, the Vet declared that much to his own amazement, we had a perfectly healthy little kitty on our hands, who could.....HEAR!!!! His hearing wasn't like that of other cats, he did hear very little. But at least he was not deaf! We took him home overjoyed. He was a great kitty. Pumi and Susi taught him everything a cat needs to know; how to chase rodents, and birds, and things. He was a great addition to the family. Soon we moved into a new neighbourhood, and due to circumstances concerning our friendly neighbours, we were forced to keep all three Pumi-Catz inside to keep them safe! Of course it was horrible for our fierce hunters, but believe me, we got our share as well!!! Dummy was a strange little one. Unlike a normal cat (but then again, how should I know, none of my cats were ever normal!), Dummy always picked the coolest spots! He slept on the airconditionshafts on the floor while they were blasting out freezing air! He always took naps on the stone tiles, and never came close to the fireplace or anything that was cosy warm! He never ate his dry-food out of the bowl, no, he would stick his paw into the bowl, pick out one piece of dryfood, drop it on the floor next to the bowl, and then he would eat it off the floor. He was a playfull little bugger. He added so much joy to our lives, and a smile comes across my face when I think about the flea infestation times. It makes me laugh when I think back at how we'd have to struggle with Dummy to get the fleas off of him. He never used his claws (unlike Pumi and Susi)! But he was really good at wiggling himself out of any hold. We went back to the Vet plenty of times with Dummy, for all sorts of reasons like shots, etc, and each time the Vet was amazed at how healthy this kitty was........

The End:

On Easter Friday 1990, I came home from school, and when I went to greet dummy who was curled up sleeping in my sister's room, I had the shock of a life-time! The poor thing was completely weak! I picked him up and put him on his feet...he sank right back down. He could not stand up, he could not move, he couldn't lift his little white head. The only thing he could do was blink his big blue eyes... and that just barely. I rushed him to the Vet right away. The Vet had no idea what was happening to the kitty, but recognized the serious condition and immediately put Dummy on the IV. I was not allowed to stay which is the only thing that still bugs me! I went home and sat up by the phone all night. The next day the Vet called and told me that there was no change in Dummy's condition. And again, I waited by the phone. It finally rang early Sunday morning. It was the call I dreaded, and I already knew it's purpose before I ever picked it up. Dummy had passed away about an hour earlier, and had finally closed his playfull, beautiful, big, blue eyes forever... Gesa and I were allowed to say our goodbyes to Dummy at the Vet clinic, and it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Later the Vet told me that he did not have the faintest idea of why this young and oh so healthy cat all of a sudden just passed away. All of us were speechless. He asked our permission to perform an autopsy, and we agreed. The autopsy reports came back very quickly, and the outcome was a complete and utter shock! Dummy had had cancer in every cell of his body. All his vital organs were completely deformed and decolored and could only be identified through location. The actual cause of death was "Water in the loungs" This result is the one thing that got me over the loss of that little blue-eyed white furball! We had given him the best of a life with everything he could possibly dream of. He lived a happy and "healthy" life without any kind of pain. And when the pain finally did come, it was for a short period only, and it was over very quickly! I miss this little guy like crazy, and that is also the reason why I wanted him to have his own memorial page, so that he would never be forgotten, and so that everyone would hear his story.
I love you, and miss you ... little Dummy ......

Aftermath:

The pain of Dummy's loss was appearantly even worse for Susi and Pumi. The two of them spent all their time searching for Dummy and calling for him. They stopped playing, and they stopped eating. If the two of them were not crying or searching for the little one, they were laying in a spot where Dummy used to lay. We were getting very concerned for them, but we stupid humans thought that maybe in time Susi and Pumi would calm down and maybe even begin to understand and get used to the fact that the little white furball they loved so much was just not around anymore. Gesa and I went to Germany for the summer, and things at home got worse! Our mother was stuck with 2 desperate cats, who were just not eating anymore, and with my sister and I gone...things got really bad. One day, my mother just decided to put an abrupt stop to it all! She went to the nearest petstore.... she looked in one of the cages, and there it was! A tiny little dark gray furball with big yellow eyes! And a headshape and bodyshape just like Dummy. I swear it could have been him! The only difference (or so my mother thought at the time) was that this little critter was gray. She took the little bundle home and called him "Devil". This little heaven's gift demanded Susi and Pumi's attention to the point where they ate again, and began to mend their sorrow. Soon they were back to normal again, and as happy and healthy as always. When I came back from my summer vacation in Germany I looked at the new tenant, and informed my mother that this little "Devil" of hers was definitely a "Witch" instead!!!! Yup, this little thing was definitely a female kind of a critter! So my mother decided to name her "Witch" but then in German. Hence, little "Hexe" got her name!


A Tribute to Dummy...A collection of the cutest pictures of the little blue-eyed white furball...



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