Saturday 10 March 2018

Sei-Chan's Sayonara SEIturday


#1 here. Who among us does not dread the time when we will have to write a post like this one? Sei-Chan left so quickly and unexpectedly. She became unwell on Friday, worsened on Saturday, was hospitalised on Sunday and left us on Monday. We are all still reeling. This post is going to be very long, so please bear with me.

The very first post which was titled SEIturday apeared on October 17, 2009. Sei-Chan was 9 months old and suddenly realised that she could have her very own day. She was such an extraordinarily happy and outgoing kitten, as you can see from the post. As she grew, she had the best friend anyone could have in Yuu-Chan. Just under a year later, Yuu-Chan died at 15 months and Sei-Chan never really recovered. From that time, she became shy and very reserved, and she remained that way for the rest of her life. People often came to visit and never saw my fourth cat. The other three would be all over my guests. Sei-Chan would sometimes put in an appearance and, very occasionally, she would fall in love with someone. She spent a lot of her time up in my study where she had three favourite spots to be. She was almost impossible to catch, except when she had decided it was snuggle time. Sometimes I would wake up and find her snuggled up against me in bed, under the covers. Other times, I would be sitting on the sofa and she would come and "do my hair" from behind.

Two years ago, at her annual check-up, she was diagnosed with early-stage renal disease. She was put on Semintra and renal food. There was an immediate improvement and her stats were almost normal a few months later. I was hopeful but it was very hard to medicate her. I would be able to syringe the Senintra into her mouth for a short while and then she would get wise and I just could no longer catch her. I then mixed it with her food, which was not ideal but seemed to work. Last November, she decided almost overnight that she did not like her renal food anymore. I switched her to ordinary high-end wet food to which I added the phosphorus binder, Ipakitine (Epakitin in North America). That worked well but it was much harder to make sure she ate her food and nobody else did. I fear that this is where things started to go wrong. Still, she seemed fine. She was even more social than before, often sitting in the living room or kitchen, instead of alone up in the study. At the end of last week, however, I noticed a decrease in appetite which very quickly turned into not eating at all. You know the rest. One more angel in the heavens.

It has been really hard to choose pictures for this post. First of all, I have so many, and she was so very photogenic. And it is so hard to sum up a life in a few photos. So, I have ended up choosing a few randomly.  If you would like to learn more about her growing up, you can look at her last birthday post here.

Sei-Chan had a funny little face, a little different from the standard Aby but incredibly expressive, with beautiful green eyes. She had a tendency to scrunch up her eyes as her eyelids were very slightly turned inward, and I would help her clean her eyes as often as she would let me do it.

As most of you know, Sei-Chan moved to Poupounette Central, along with her Mama, Viña del Mar, when she was just 4 weeks old. Her mama stayed with her until she was three months old, and then returned to her breeder.




  

She was very laid back!






And had in Tama a great big sister to learn the ropes from!


 And look after her!


 Growing up, she loved to snuggle, first with me:



And then she discovered Tommy!





 And there was her great love, Yuu-Chan:


That was a very special relationship and Sei-Chan never really got over Yuu's premature departure for the Bridge.









Despite this, Sei-Chan found comfort and love at Poupounette Central over the following years. She cuddled with me and, most importantly with her other great love Tommy:







 


She also enjoyed hanging out with her sister, Tama:


She was extremely photogenic and her furs always glowed in the sun. I have taken so many portraits of her over the years. Here are just a few from the past few years.











 




Sei-Chan was also famous for her amazing pink pawpads, so here is a photo from her youth:


 I could go on and on, but I need to stop somewhere, so I shall close the photo gallery with three stunning photos of her taken by my friend Hiroaki Ota, a professional photographer and great cat lover from Japan:




 Just a couple more things to tell you before concluding this post. As I drove home the afternoon that Sei-Chan crossed the Bridge, I saw a rainbow just ahead of me:


Two days later, in the British countryside, there was another rainbow:


Sei-Chan let us know that she had arrived, and that she was reunited with Yuu-Chan.

I would like to say a very special thank you to those who made the beautiful badges for Sei-Chan, Ann Adamus and  Ingrid, Pipo and Dalton:


.

Thank you also to all those who mentioned Sei-Chan in their posts, and who left such lovely comments both on the blog and on Facebook. The outpouring of love and support has helped a great deal.

And Sei-Chan brought me personally another gift as she left: My nephew, with whom I have been estranged for three years, read about her on Facebook and wrote to me.

Sei-Chan, you were such a shy little girl and you lived your life very much on your own terms, but you made a huge mark on all our lives and all our hearts ache not to see your beautiful sweet face among us anymore. We will never forget you.

Sayonara, Sei.

40 comments:

  1. Sei, we will miss you lots. Especially my human - Sparkle went in much the same way you did, first being diagnosed with early CRF, and then after several years, she went downhill almost overnight and she was gone. So my human is taking your loss kind of hard. Purrs to your family, and especially to #1.

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  2. What a beautiful post and wonderful tribute to your sweet Sei-Chan. She will be missed a lot. Purrs and hugs to you all

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  3. A beautiful post for a stunningly beautiful and charming kitty, whom we shall miss. Her fiery glowing fur and cweet face.... It is so hard that she left too soon, and we send many purrs. We will look for her tail in the rays of the northern lights.

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  4. What a lovely post -

    No more words needed from us -

    And the pictures!

    Hugz&Khysses,
    Khyra's Mom
    PS: What a special reunion - both 'here' and at The RB!

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  5. You will always be in our hearts Sei-Chan.

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  6. A beautiful tribute to a beautiful cat.
    Sei was indeed most pretty.
    We know how hard a sudden loss can be,but in remembering the fullness of her life you will be comforted.
    The last three pictures of her in this post are stunning :)
    WE will always remember this darling kitty.
    Love,hugs and purrs.
    Purrs Georgia,Julie and JJ
    and Nancy

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  7. Vous avez eu le privilège de vivre une belle aventure avec Sei Chan. Gardez précieusement ces bons moments passés ensemble. Au revoir jolie petite princesse. Caresses de Lapin, Chipette et la meute.

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  8. A lovely tribute for the lovely Sei-Chan. Seiturday won't be the same without her. Purrs of comfort and paws of sympathy for the family she left behind.

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  9. Simply beautiful! LSBnWNC

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  10. We are so very sorry. A wonderful tribute to a wonderful girl.

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  11. Love, hugs and purrs to you. Sei was a wonderful lady cat and will be missed by many.

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  12. A beautiful tribute for a beautiful , sweet girl. You have a lovely assortment of photos to remember her by Virginia. I will miss Sei-Chan and I will miss seeing her sweet, innocent face. She reminded me of Mitalee somehow. I hope both Mitalee and Esme have led Sei-Chan to a mutually inhabited place of everlasting love.Hugs to you and sending you all my love.

    Sophie and the critters in the cottage xo

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  13. What a lovely tribute to a gorgeous cat. The pictures were fantastic. So so sad that she had to leave all of you. Big hugs to you.

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  14. That was a most loving tribute to that sweet gal, it did make my whiskers weepy wet again. Love and hugs from all of us.

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  15. What a lovely tribute to your beautiful Sei-Chan.

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  16. Angel Sei-Chan, so beautiful. RIP, sweetheart

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  17. Sei-chan had the sweetest face. Precious. I am sure you and Tommy will miss her greatly. Her withdrawal into shyness upon the loss of Yuu is particularly heart breaking. Sending warm hugs and purrs

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  18. This is a beautiful, heartfelt, and love-filled post for Sei-Chan. Her relationship with Yuu-Chan is so much like Ciara and Thunder. Ciara was never the same without her Thunder either - that was the start of all her seizure issues.

    You should make a photobook of all the amazing photos you have of your sweet girl. It would be a treasure to keep for years and years.

    We are wondering how the other cats and Tommy are doing after her sudden loss.

    Hugs to you, may the beautiful memories of Sei-Chan's time with you help to heal your heart.

    Woos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber and Mom too

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  19. Thank you for sharing Sei-Chan with us over the years, and for your beautiful reflections and these lovely photos. She was a sweet girl.

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  20. mommie always lubbed the white eyeliner around her eyez. she looked like her make-up wuz always purrfect

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  21. This was a beautiful tribute to your beautiful girl. XO

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  22. What a wonderful tribute for the beautiful Sei-Chan. We are sending prayers and soft purrs to all of you.

    Purrrrrrrrrrrrrs, Spike William

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  23. What a touching post and beautiful tribute for your sweet Sei-Chan. Now she is reunited with Yuu-Chan..they shine together in the sky.
    Sending hugs and warm thoughts your way.

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  24. This is a beautiful tribute to Sei-Chan. The photos are beautiful and will be a lasting and treasured memory of her. She will be missed by all who knew of her through the blog as well as those who knew her personally.

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  25. Once again, so sorry for the loss of beautiful Sei-Chan.

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  26. Oh beautiful girl, you've been taken far too soon. I know our Inigo will be there to greet you... keeping you all in our thoughts and purrs today.

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  27. What a beautiful tribute to a beautiful girl. We will miss Sei-Chan very much. We always enjoyed seeing her on Seiturday. Sending you all many purrs....

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  28. I'm here to pay my respects to Sei-Chan. *bows head* I'd also like to send comforting purrz to those she left behind.

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  29. Dear Virginia I just want to say your tribute to Sei Chan is the most beautiful &7 touching post I've ever read. So many beautiful photos of Sei & her love Yuu & Tommy & you. I am weeping as I type. I felt like I knew this sweet girl. You are right there was something unique & special about your Sei girl. We will always treasure her memory. And THANK YOU for sharing Sei Chan with us.
    Gentle {{{hugs}}} Sherri-Ellen & ***nose kissesss*** Siddhartha Henry xxxxxxxx

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  30. I am so sorry ....such a beautiful girl she was. The photos you chose gave us a wonderful glimpse into the life she shared with you. We hope you can look at these photos and have happy memories of her time with you.
    Mama Bear of Our Furry Boys

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  31. What a beautiful tribute to Sei-Chan. We are so sorry for your loss and we are sending healing purrs. It's so special that she sent you two rainbows.

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  32. What beautiful words, and following your blog for many years, we know that your love was a constant in Sei-Chan's lifetime. My humans spent time with The Gang several years ago, and so they saw first-hand how you love your little family very much. And when you came to visit us on PEI, you were so kind to us!
    We will all miss Sei-Chan and hope her lovely little face pops up on the blog from time to time! Sending you snuggles from...
    Sami and Sama ... The Island Chans xxoo

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  33. Virginia, Sei was astonishing. I was reading your blog before I started Nellie's. And Sei was my inspiration. I love how you portrayed her personality and I felt I knew her well. She will live on, not only in your memory, but in her words and her images and in our hearts.
    Love Barb

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  34. Un bel hommage, tant de souvenirs à partager.
    Elle est partie tellement soudainement Sei-Chan. Elle laisse un grand vide, et pas qu'à La Poupounette.
    Elle est quelque part, réunie avec Yuu-Chan. Ceux qui s'aiment se retrouve forcement quelque part, au delà de la mort. Les photos que je préfère sont celles où elle est avec lui.
    J'aime beaucoup aussi celle où l'on voit juste sa tête et son cou, dans du bleu. Elle semble sourire, avec un air taquin.
    J'espère que comme Ange Loustiquette, de temps en temps elle reviendra sur ce blog.

    Jolie Sei-Chan nous te souhaitons une douce nouvelle vie baignée d'amour et de douceur.

    Hisia et Natacha ... et Ange Loustiquette

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  35. Such a sweet tribute to your lovely little Angel Sei Chan.
    May those memories travel in your heart forever.

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  36. It is almost impossible to believe that there will be no more Seiturdays and that our girl is no longer with us. Somehow the circle has closed and someone very special is gone from our world. When you said you saw a rainbow, we could only think of Yuu and his rainbow as he crossed! The two soul mates are together again and we must find our comfort in this.
    We believe that a part of them lives on in us . Sei joined Yuu in your heart and they now generates a powerful presence and unending source of comfort, strength and happiness.
    The little face will never be forgotten, her name will be said and her sweetness will live on in those who loved her.

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  37. Safe travels kitty, we send respect and gentle wooos,

    Nuk & family

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  38. We are so sorry to hear of Sei-Chan's passing over the Bridge. She was such a beautiful little girl. Thank you for sharing such wonderful memories with us all. We hate renal disease. Fly free Sei-Chan and bask in the sun as you wish and nap after play. We shall all meet again in our time.
    Love and support from us all
    Timmy, Dad Pete and Family

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  39. Je viens de chez Hisia et Loustiquette* ...
    je compatis à la peine et au chagrin que vosu ressenez suite au départ de votre jolie petite princesse.
    La maladie est si cruelle ...
    Dorénavant, c'est elle qui veille sur vous.
    Pensées douces pour elle
    Courage à vous

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  40. We just heard the news, as we have been away from blogging and Facebook due to our mom's concussion. We are so sorry to hear that Sei-Chan has gone to the bridge. She was such a beautiful lady. Our hearts hurt for you and you have our deepest condolences.

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