Rainbow Bibi's Thankful For My Life Thursday

Da Rainbow Beebs: Greetings from the Bridge, my friends! Well, I did warn you last week that I was feeling very tired and that I could make no promises about the following week, but I decided that I would come and see you again, and #1 said it would be good if I could introduce the blog post about my life. I will of course take part in Rainbow Sei's weekly posts!

I hope you are sitting comfortably and have some popcorn at paw because it will be quite long. #1 had a pretty hard time, even choosing this few/many photos! My Mama Tama did her best to help her:

 

Before I hand over the keyboard to #1, I wanted to tell you one more time that I had a great life, the best. I lived with my beloved #1 from the moment I was born, and met my soul brother Tommy when I was less than 3 months old. When he left us so suddenly in late December, my life force seemed to go with him and that is when I became ill. Now I am reunited with him and, even though we both miss #1 terribly, we are so happy to be together again. Thank you all for your friendship, thank you to my Mama Tama for raising me, to my siblings, and to my #1 for loving me so very much.

😻💖😻💖😻💗

#1 here. I have been contemplating the writing of this post ever since Beebs left us. I have been going through the photo albums. There are so many, so very many photos, and making a selection has been incredibly hard. I am sure I shall come across photos later and think "I should have included that one in the post". But anyway, here it is, THE LIFE OF BEEBS:

When her breeder gave me Tama (because she had malformations on her front paws and was therefore not sellable), the one condition was that she have one litter and he would take the kittens when weaned. I said yes and she had her amorous rendez-vous shortly after her first birthday. When the time came however, things did not go as planned and she ended up having an emergency Caesarian on December 4th, 2009. There were 4 kittens, three boys, Ebisu (Bibi-Chan), Eifuku (Fuku-Chan), Echigo (Gogo-chan), and one girl, Ehime (Hime-Chan). As they grew, though, Bibi-Chan made it very clear that he wanted to stay. He would run to me every time I entered the baby room, would snuggle up to me for cuddles every chance he got. How could I resist? The breeder agreed to give him to me, and so he stayed.

Tama's litter were known as "The Fab Four"

Beebs was the cutest kitten ever:

 And he was very snuggly right from the start:

And so handsome!

 

When Bibi met Tommy:

A 3-way snuggle with Tommy, Tama and Bibi:

Once Beebs was weaned, it was Yuu-Chan who took over looking after him:

Although Tommy remained available 24/7

 

Bibi grew 

 

His love for the dryer full of warm clothes started early:

He loved going into the cat run:

Here he is (at the back) with Sei-Chan and Yuu-Chan:

His first Christmas, with Tommy, just after his first birthday:

Tama still very occasionally gave him a wash back then:

He loved his toys:

And was a Yogic sleeper!

His first "HOUBIBI" escapade!

 

His second birthday card!

Cutie:

So handsome!

Glowing in sunpuddles:

"Playing" with Da Genj:

 

Snuggling with Da Genj:

In his best bib and tucker for his third birthday:

Helping with the blog:

In the cat run:

Still a champion snuggler!

With his half-sister, Sei:

Staying cool in the summer:

He loved having his ears rubbed:

The cat tree in the kitchen:

Beebs for dinner!

His fourth birthday!

With his #1:

 

Through the years, Tommy remained Bibi's friend and mentor:

Whenever he used to go to Dr. C's for his annual review, she used to admire him and say he was the perfect Aby!

He even became a tiny bit chubbier with maturity:

But he still had those amazing eyes!

And he was always so snuggly!

He often snuggled with Tommy last thing at night or first thing in the morning:

And whispered all his secrets to him.

He had real presence by his 6th birthday:

And always enjoyed Christmas!

 

Ear rubs remained his favourite thing:

 

He was SO photogenic!

And was the most vocal of the Chans

 

That intense gaze...

His 7th birthday portrait:

 

He and his Mama Tama were not close, even though they were very alike, but they did occasionally hang out together:

 

Beebs often looked like he was meditating:

Making up the bed for guests in the spare bedroom always led to shenanigans...

 

Bedtime snuggling:

8th birthday:

 

Enjoying a Christmas gift:

With Mama-Tama, eyeing my dinner:

Beebs loved undercover snuggling.

No one could wear a bow tie with quite so much panache!

More bed-making fun:

 

Beebs was quite talented at losing his collar

He loved the sky hammocks in the study!

 

And still those eyes as he celebrated his 9th birthday on December 4th, 2018:

And Tommy.

 After we got the awful news about Tommy, Beebs tried very hard to comfort him:

But ended up having to say goodbye on the day Tommy left us:

 

Beebs fell ill almost immediately afterwards. This picture is taken in February, and he was still OK back then:

Even though he fought hard, it was as though his body just fell apart He who had been the strongest and healthiest of all the Chans. I have shared the pictures taken during his illness over the past weeks, so won't include them again. This last picture of Beebs was taken at the vet's, just before he left us:

He is buried in my garden:

Right next to Tommy, under the Japanese cherry tree. I think that, having seen the photos in today's post, you will all understand why it was not possible to separate them.

 My only comfort, other than having the two best friends together, is that my Tama is still with me and she of course holds a large part of Beebs within her. May she grow old slowly and well, and be my companion for many years to come. She will be 11 this year in August.

RUN FREE, MY PRINCE

💜💛💚💙💗