Dear felinity assembled, it is with a heavy heart that I come to you with very sad news....
Miss Maddie, of StrangeRanger, has made her journey to Rainbow Bridge.
She died, on April 6th, of an untreatable cancer, her loving humans having made the decision to "not ask her to linger."
Where to begin?
When the StrangeRanger blog began, in August 2005, Maddie was an important part of it. She made such an immediate impression that the Godfather of Cat Blogging, Laurence Simon, who had begun the Carnival of the Cats the year before, left the first comment.
What a lady cat! Hee, hee!
Her man human, John, submitted her for the 1st time to CoTC soon after her debut...Mind of Mog - CoTC #73.
When StrangeRanger hosted the CoTC for the first time (#169 - 6/17/07) Maddie had a freak out and hid under the bed.
The 2nd time they hosted, #178 in Aug. 2007, she slept through it...but at least she was out from under the bed!
By the 3rd time she was dancing with excitement (#185 - 10/7/07) and the rest is history.
In the 7+ years since, while StrangeRanger never hosted again, Maddie has had a constant presence in the submissions to the CoTC as John shared her life with the world. The stories have provided an interesting glimpse into her life, in all its ups and downs...and the photos have been fascinating, fun and beautiful.
The last Maddie post was March 15th = Maddie apparently still hasn't gotten over her humans going to the Opera, so no new post last week!
Maddie, my dear, you will be missed.
I have absolutely no doubt that she was met at the entrance to Rainbow Bridge by our dearly missed Mr. Nikita and many of her friends and fans who went before her.
One of the best comments left in response to the announcement of her passing was by da tabbies o trout towne..."Maddie comforted by St. Francis".
Thank you Anne, of Zoolatry, for the awesome memorial image!
For us Cat Bloggers the Carnival is a chance to discover blogs we might never have heard of, on subjects of all kinds!
It is an opportunity for us to reach an audience we might not otherwise reach.
It is a chance to promote a post or 2, each week, that we think will be of interest to others, and to pitch them using more than 140 characters or just a short sentence barely long enough to get a point across.
Submissions and tips can be sent to: carnivalofthecats(at)gmail (dot) com
They must be received by 3pm EST, each Sunday (ideally we’d like posts submitted by Midnight EST Saturday, but know regulars who share Sunday posts), so the host can have time to post the current CoTC Sunday evening, or no later than Tuesday evening.
Sorry to be late, again, but Daddy Kiril has been running around the apartment with a strange grin on his face and hogging the computer since Sunday...so what's a girl to do. I ask you?
So, let's get started!
This edition will be different in that submissions will be held for next week, at Life From a Cat's Perspective, and the FNN news round-up will be held off until my return the following week.
This week belongs to Maddie...I hope readers will share this post in her honor.
For your fix of the best in pet blogging I offer our share-fest round-up:
1. Friday Ark #514 - Cats, Dogs, Birds, Invertebrates, Other Vertebrates and the Extinct! Oh, my!
2. Camera-Critters #365 - The oldest active meme about photos of animals/critters!
3. Rascal & Rocco has Pet Parade #86
4. Blog Paws hosts a Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop
5. Pepi Smart Dog hosts the Thankful Thursday Weekly Blog Hop
6. Athena and Marie host the Caturday Art Blog Hop - Enjoy creating and sharing arty photos of your pets (it doesn't have to be too artistic) then this the Blog Hop for you!
7. The Cat on My Head hosts the Sunday Selfies Blog Hop - "no photo of a cat can ever be a bad photo! But please remember, all critters (not only kitties) are welcome…horsies, woofies, chippies, squirties, piggies, buns or any other anipal. And, of course, you may include your human if they don’t mind."
8. Burnt Food Dude hosts the Feline Friday Blog Hop - It began in August 2012 with Mr. Steve admitting for all the world to read..."OK! OK! OK! I really do like cats. They really don’t want to take over the world." About that "TOTW" stuff...OK, if he says so, hee, hee!
9. The True Book Addict hosts a Cat Thursday Blog Hop with an always interesting topic. (There appears to be a tech issue with their Mr. Linky, right now, though).
10. Dogs N Pawz hosts the Tuesday's Tails Opt to Adopt Blog Hop - The blog hop that features shelter pets and tries to find them Forever Homes: All about it and how to help.
LadyRanger and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. This is a lovely tribute to our beautiful girl. Thanks to everyone who has come by to leave a note. I'm deeply touched that so many have helped ease our pain and have remembered Maddie.
Thank you.
Posted by: john | April 09, 2015 at 06:04 AM
A beautiful tribute for a beautiful kitty ... rest well, run free sweet Maddie.
Posted by: Zoolatry | April 09, 2015 at 06:55 AM
elvira, sneakers & daddy kiril....thanx for thiz shout out to R total lee awesum friend maddie....we were honored two noe her & onlee wish R friendship had been longer.....we will troo lee miss her ♥♥♥♥♥
heerz two laughin cow cheeze R friend♥♥♥
Posted by: da tabbies o trout towne | April 09, 2015 at 10:24 AM
We will miss you Maddie!
Lots of hugs and prayers for your Mom & Dad!
Your TX furiends,
Samantha
Posted by: Samantha & Mom | April 09, 2015 at 09:17 PM