Yes, Smokey was my love.  The first Black Smoke Male I have ever had, and I was so proud to show him as there weren't a lot of Black Smokes on the show circuit.  So many breeders, spectators, and judges also commented on how beautiful he was with his sleek black coat and its flowing silver undercoat.  He started out at the age of 8 months accumulating his points toward being a Grand Champion.  He was not an overnight success, but a constant winner, and easily accumulated 114 out of the 200 points he needed to get his title.

Regretfully, in April 2006, a huge mass was found in the abdomen of Smokey by my vet, Dr. Mark Honaker.  Dr. Honaker felt that a mass that big, in such a young cat (Smokey was just a year old) was probably malignant and very invasive.  We made the very difficult decision to put Smokey down.  The decision turned out to be the right one as the cancer had invaded Smokey's intestine and liver, and one of his lungs was collapsed.  My heart is still very heavy from the loss of Smokey.

When Rainbow was born on 10/5/2000, I saw the most beautiful array of colors I had ever seen on one of my kittens.  I knew from the beginning she was going to be something special so her name became "Follow Your Rainbow ".  It didn't take Rainbow long to start picking up points toward becoming a Grand Champion.  At many of the shows she got points over males that were much bigger and older, and we were so proud of her.  It was judges like Kitty Angel, Rickey Carroll, Jo Ann Cummings, Doug Meyers, and Robert Molino that proved that girls could compete against boys, and be held in high esteem.  I wish I could hug all of them now for the 177points she acquired in such a short time out.  And had I not botched up the 24 points that Rickey gave her at a show by putting her in the wrong cage, she would now have the status of Grand Champion.

But GC is just a title.  Rainbow was a big, beautiful loving girl.  Everyone who saw her fell in love with her.  She was the kind of girl I dreamt of breeding once in a life time.  And the colors, such a rainbow of vibrant colors!

As she got to be close to a year and a half of age (there were months at a time that I was unable to get out to shows), she was becoming hormonal and not enjoying shows as she used to.  We decided to let her take a break from her show career to have her first litter. She was bred to GC Purricoon's Bohemian Zebulon, and we were excited because this was to be her first litter, and Bo's last.  The kittens, I felt, would be fabulous!   But as is true of life, serious curves can be thrown your way when you least expect it, and unforeseen circumstances can befall us all.  On Sunday April 14, 2002, I lost Rainbow (about 8 weeks pregnant) on the way to the Tidewater Emergency Clinic.  She died of complications due to her pregnancy.  There were no warning signs that she was in pain or had an ongoing uterine infection due to kittens that had died envitro.  No signs, until I came home that Sunday to find her breathing hard, salivating, and going into seizures.

As I look around my house I can still see her sitting on her favorite stool in the kitchen with the dogs around her, or head butting my Dobie, Hulia, or sleeping at the foot of my bed every night.  I will always cherish the memories of her ... and I am grateful for every minute I was blessed to have her in my life and family.

To anyone who reads this poem, and knows what it's like to love an animal so deeply.   I now give this to you in memory of the love one you lost, and most especially from me to you in the memory of Rainbow...

WHEN SUNNY SKIES SHALL SMILE NO MORE
WHEN WAVES NO LONGER WOO THE SHORE;
WHEN EVERY SWEET VOICED BIRD HAS FLED,
WHEN EVERY SUMMER ROSE IS DEAD;
WHEN STARS FORSAKE THE EVENING SKY,
WHEN HEARTS WITH LOVE SHALL CEASE TO SIGH;
WHEN SILVERY MISTS DESERT THE GLEN,
I MAY PERHAPS FORGET YOU THEN
by
Maurine Hathaway