Deanna
always adjusting her tiara - the queen
Deanna: 1991-2009
 1992 |
 2009 |
portrait
| Morgan left Valentine's Day 1992. Two days later a friend called about two gorgeous kittens in a shelter in Red Bank, NJ. They were 3 to 4 months old. I fell in love with Troi at first sight, and couldn't bear to separate him from his sister. She clung to him and looked so sweet. So I took them both, ever after known as "the twins". |
my little queen
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They were both sick when I got them, but Troi had the worst of it. I had to give him pills, put stuff in his eyes, his ears, wash his butt and bathe him with anti-fungal for ring worm. While his sister hid in the basement, he was totally attached to me no matter the indignities he suffered from his treatments. I put food and water in the basement for Deanna, and just talked sweetly to her to try to get her to come out of the basement. Finally, when Troi was yowling about one of his many treatments, she put one quivering paw in front of the other and climbed the steps to find her brother. Then she realized he was safe and so was she. That was the end of her hiding in the basement. Sultan was still alive when they came into the family, and took them under his wing along with Phoenix. |
the twins were initially inseparable
the twins
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Deanna loved Wolf, that's her peaking out from behind her on the bed. She had total trust in Wolf. Once she and her brother were racing around the house and Wolf was sleeping at the bottom of the stairs. They used Wolf as a springboard in their chase. On one go-around, Wolf lifted up her head and caught Deanna in her mouth, and gently put her down. However, that was the end of the malamute springboarding! Wolf also loved playing defend the bed with them. She'd try to defend all corners while the cats tried jumping on. Eventually, they'd all settle down and fall asleep together. She really paid no mind to Taylor, my second mal, just regally walked by her. |
the gang of three - Deanna on the right
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Deanna was regal, as my friend Lisa said, "here comes Deanna into the room, adjusting her tiara" :) And while she didn't like to let on that she needed anyone, she did love to squish in with others. Initially with her brother, as well as Phoenix and of course Wolf.
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squishing in on Phoe on the windowsill
 Phoe had the chair first |
 De is comfy |
compromise, both comfy
| Before she lost her sight at age 17, she did like helping out in the office. Her idea of help was just to sit there and look at me awaiting admiration :) |
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Deanna definitely knew her name, called sweetly as "Dee-an-na" or "Dee Dee", she would always purp and lift up her back end. She also came when called, especially if she was in a room in which she didn't belong, and then she'd trot out of there purping the whole way. She was a vocal cat. She was also called "googles", because her eyes oscillated (in addition to being slightly cross-eyed). I always wondered how many calories she burned up with those eyes oscillating like that, even in her sleep! Here's the catch, she was the best bug hunter I ever had. How she'd catch a bug with those cross-eyes whirling around in her head was just too much!
Mouser She had a thing for eating the dried wheat that was decoratively in a planter. Never could break her of it. She swallowed quite a strand one time, which I realized when I saw 3 inches of it hanging out of her back end. She even got to it once after she was blind. Didn't matter that I'd moved it so she couldn't find it. She only wanted to be brushed if her brother or Phoe were being brushed. She really didn't like it, but couldn't bear to be left out. She always did the "exorcist routine" - I swear she could spin her head almost all the way around to get at that brush, but yet she didn't want it to stop. What a pip! |
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She rarely ran from him, just usually stood her ground. She's giving him the "one-eye" in the left photo above, when he was about 6 months old. In the other photo, she's just standing her ground. It took him awhile to realize he couldn't poke her, but just sniff. He ended up being extremely gentle with her. Didn't like if she was near me when food was around, and would get sent to his crate, only to come out all sheepish and gently apologetic to her.
After she lost her sight, and wandered too far into the kitchen (beyond the water bowl), he would woo, alerting me that she was in trouble and lost.
| Deanna had a sniffing relationship with Cinnabar. He was allowed to sniff her while she was on the sofa. For all parties, there was always a peace treaty at the waterbowl. Sniffing allowed, but no antics. |
| Early in their lives the twins were inseparable. When they were around 5, Deanna snubbed him and hung out with Phoenix. On rare occassions she'd get ticked with Phoe and would snuggle with her brother, maybe once a year. In his last weeks, Deanna went blind and suddenly her brother was perfect to snuggle with again. |
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In October 2007, right after her brother was diagnosed with cancer, Deanna went blind overnight. Detached retinas. For awhile, there was no more oscillating eyes, but then they started to oscillate gently on occasion. Her pupils still contracted to very bright light. We speculated that she could see light, perhaps shapes. The first few days, she talked up a storm and bumped into walls. She wanted to keep to her routine, so she kept jumping up on her chair in my office. Slowly, her routine changed and she did less jumping on things. She was a champ on the stairs, and would cry out to "echo locate" when she was in the foyer. After those first few days, there was no crabbing about it, she just completely adjusted. In May 2009, she started to show her age, and just went downhill very fast. She kept to her routine, but was wobbly and her talking was very weak. It hurt to hear it. A weak pained whisper of her former vibrant voice. Both Sebastian and Cinnabar, got extremely gentle and light on their feet around her. It was time, but I had a hard time with it. All the way to the vet I was second guessing myself and praying for a sign I was doing the right thing. She showed me I was right at the vet, absolutely no curiousity about anything, she was ready. And sweet girl, purred lightly while she went to sleep with her head in my hand and my lips on her head telling her I love her. |
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| My little Dee Dee, I miss you already. I picture you in heaven squishing in on your brother and Phoe, and getting things straightened out to your liking. I know you'll be adding to the heavenly chorus, you've always had so much to say. I love you, Deanna, and have for the almost 19 years we had together. |
Background by Sheryl
Bordered background uses a picture of Troi gazing
at his reflection in the piano
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