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The Story
of
LUPER
and
JELLY

To tell their story, I have to mention the two Katz who came before them.
And, this is a perfect example of WHY I need these pictorial accounts!
Although I’m only 52 y/o right now (February, 2009),
I can BARELY remember those two Wonderful Katz!

In the Spring of 1986, I started my first Paramedic job, with A-1 Ambulance in Cheyenne,
Wyoming. I can’t remember where I got them, but two Kittens came to live with me there;
Grizabella and Bombellurina.
I got their names from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, “CATS” – which was based on
T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.”
(I’ve just discovered that I’ve always misspelled Rina’s name! It should have been
spelled “Bombalurina,” instead of “Bombellurina!” Typical Chas Brain Fart. LOL
But! I like HER name’s spelling better than Eliot’s. So THERE!)

I have very, very FEW pix of Grizabella and Bombellurina.
(Before 2001, when my Katz bought me a DIGITAL CAMERA, I didn’t take that many KAT pix!)
GRIZABELLA
The Glamour Kat

Griz was a gorgeous
Tortoiseshell Calico Kat.

I’m reasonably sure that she
and Rina were siblings.
But, Griz always ruled the roost!

I do remember that Griz had a GARGANTUAN PURRRR!
In fact, she’d purr so forcefully that her nose would run a little.
So, she also … BUBBLED … while she purred.

BOMBELLURINA

Rina was timid, and quiet …
and soooo very sweet!

But, that’s about all
I can remember of her,
dammitall.

In the Spring of 1987 I transferred to A-1 Ambulance in Colorado Springs.
In August of that year, several friends and I (including David’s sister, Laurel, who
was visiting from California) went on a weekend camping trip to the Pueblo Reservoir.
I can’t remember why she was left outside when we headed out on the trip!
But, while we were gone, my Grizabella was hit by a car and killed.

The following Monday, David drove Laurel up to Denver and dropped her off at a friend’s
house. After he left, she discovered that her wallet and return ticket were still in his car.
So, she called and told me that he’d have to come right back to Denver. (No one had
cell phones back then – at least not US … LOL.)
Meanwhile, Laurel borrowed some cash and her friend’s car, then drove to a
nearby 7-11. After shopping, while driving out of the parking lot, something tiny dashed
in front of her car. She slammed on the brakes, and barely missed hitting a
TINY LITTLE CALICO KITTEN!
She looked around, but didn’t see anyone looking for the kitten and had no idea
where it had come from. So, knowing how traumatized I was about my Grizabella
(a CALICO KITTY!), Laurel took the kitten back to her friend’s house.

When David got home and learned he had to drive right back to Denver (an hour-drive,
one-way), I offered to ride with him. When we arrived, Laurel said she had a gift for me.
And THAT’s how GUADELUPE came into my life!


David was the one who named her. “She looks like a Guadelupe.”
Her nickname was LUPER, or sometimes LOOP!
(Ok. Sometimes “LOOP-A-LOO” – LOL)


She was incredibly ACTIVE! And, although Rina was missing Griz,
she couldn’t help being drawn to the Tiny Kitten o’ Terror.


In fact, within an HOUR of Luper’s arrival,
She and Rina had become very close COHORTS IN CRIME!
After all,
Rina was only
about a year
and a half old.

So, she was
still a
KITTEN,
too!

Just a very
BIG
KITTEN.

In the Fall of 1988 I moved to Denver (to work for Ambulance Service Company) where I
rented my Landlord’s Basement Apartment.
In those days, I didn’t have Kat-Flaps anywhere. So, Rina & Luper would just be let out
the door, to play in the back yard and alley way; then, would have to MEOW to come back
in (or come in when I called them – which happened maybe 50% of the time).

In about May of 1989, my darling
Bombellurina went outside …
and didn’t come back.

I called and called for her, whenever
I was home. But, she didn’t answer.
About 2 days after she went
missing, a neighbor heard me calling
and came over.
He had found a black Kat dead
in the street, picked her up, and gently
tucked her into a box.

Soooooo, I took my Rina’s body
to the Humane Society.

I didn’t plan it! But while I was there,
I noticed all the KITTENS they had,
crying piteously for someone to give
them a good home.

And THAT’s how JELLYLORUM came into my life!
I saw a little kitten who looked almost exactly like Rina!
They both were Black, Longhaired Katz, with Yellow Eyes.
The only difference in their appearance was:
Rina had a little white spot of fur on her Chest …
Jelly had a little white spot of fur on her Tummy!
That’s IT!

Jelly’s name even came from the SAME PHRASE that resulted in Rina’s name!
It came from a phrase in the T.S. Eliot poem, “The Naming Of Cats,” that
describes the different Names that Katz have.
“Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum”

I don’t have any pix of Jelly as a KITTEN!
But, I remember her being small and very cuddly.
I also remember her having a HORRIBLE case of EAR MITES when I got her!!!
The Humane Society gave me some medication to put in her ear each day, for several
days. Thankfully, they also advised me to do the ear drops with her in the TUB!
Because, after the drops were put in her ear, and rubbed around, she’d
VIOLENTLY SHAKE HER HEAD … expelling CHUNKS o’ black-krappe containing
EAR MITES ALL over the place!!! YUCK.
My Darling JELLY! I luved her dearly from the start!


Luper IMMEDIATELY BONDED with Jelly.
And, for the following 16 YEARS, the two of them were INSEPARABLE!

In the Fall of 1989,
I moved to a rental house
on South Elm Street,
in Denver.

Luper and Jelly Co-Ruled
that Roost
until
AXEL ROSE
found us!


These X-mas Pix are from 1990.

Axel Rose found us in the Spring of 1993.

He was approximately 2 years old when he showed up and simply refused to leave!
He had been living on the streets of Denver for who-knows-how-long – surviving by
sheer will and tenacity. So, I had no choice but to fall madly in love with him!

[Axel disappeared from our Lincoln home on July 29, 1999.
Click on this Link to visit his MEMORIAL Page]

Luper and Jelly HATED Axel Rose!
All he wanted was to PLAY with them.
But, neither of the Girlz wanted anything to do with the big, Orange CUDDLE MONSTER!

So, in order to stop them FIGHTING with each other, I decided to get Axel his very own
KITTEN to play with.

And THAT’s how SYLVIE came into my life!

I have almost NO Baby Pix of Sylvie!
(Again, Pre-Digital Camera Era.)

But, OH! She and Axel were
the BESTEST of Buddies.

And, she accomplished her purpose:
Luper and Jelly were no longer
TORMENTED by Axel, once he
had his very own Kitten!

Some day, I’ll do a
SYLVIE STORY page.

She’s almost 16 y/o at this writing
(February, 2009),
so I have TIME to do that
another day!

We also got our FISHES
at this time (1993)!

The FISHES were intended to be a
source of “entertainment” for the Katz
– much like a TV.

(Which is why the FISH TANK
was originally put on the FLOOR!)

For some reason, Jelly luved
watching the fishes while
UPSIDE DOWN!

Really!

Whenever she watched them,
Jelly would roll onto her back
to do so!

Too funny.

Oddly enough,
when Sylvie watched the
FISHES,
she did so from
ON TOP OF
the tank.

Unfortunately, within a couple weeks
ALL the Katz decided that the Fishes were …
Well … pretty much BORING!

So, the Fishes simply became MINE.

Since then, the only time any Kat
pays any attention to them is when
the Kat (Kitten) first meets them.
LOL

Anyway! … From the Spring of 1993 until July of 1999,

THESE were the FOUR LUVZ o’ My Life!
Top Row Left to Right: Sylvie, Axel Rose, Luper
Jelly at the bottom of the frame.


Oh! If Luper had been conscious at this time,
Axel would have been SHREDDED! LOL

To CONTINUE …
In November of 1998, we left Denver and moved back to Lincoln, Nebraska.

We moved into the basement of the Miller Fandamily Manse.
Uncle Mud (Drew, LOL) helped me create a ramp to a Kat Flap that allowed the Katz
to go OUTSIDE – through the garage – and roam free, anytime of the day or night.
Luper absolutely LUVED crossing the street and going down to the LAKE to watch,
and probably TORMENT, the DUCKS!


SUNI’s page is HERE
SUNI
came to live with us
after Axel disappeared!

She was a “Muted” Tortoiseshell Calico,
and an absolute DARLING!

Luper was across the street, and watched Suni
get hit and killed by a car on March 22, 2000.

So, I’m pretty sure that Luper understood WHY we all BECAME INDOOR KATZ AFTER THAT!

HOWEVER, the “Indoor Katz” gig was VERY unpopular!!!
So, they TORTURED me into figuring out a way for them to go OUTSIDE again …
They tortured me until I came up with the KAT HABITAT IDEA!

If you click on the link to SUNI’s page (above), it will lead you to the links about
THE EVOLUTION OF OUR KAT HABITAT.

In May of 2000,
JEAN PIERRE RAMPAL
came to live with us!!!

You can read about the story of his NAME
and see his BABY PIX HERE!

[See him MONKEY WALK across the
TOP of the HABITAT HERE!!!]

SO!
From
MAY of 2000,
to
NOVEMBER of 2005,

We Were
THESE
FOUR

GUADELUPE
WAS THE
LONGEST
“LUV O’ MY LIFE!”

I left home when I was 17.

The longest I ever lived with a
“spousal unit” was 9 years.

But, LUPER and I
were together
for
18 YEARS!!!

FUN Stuff About LUPER

Luper LUVed
to Drink Water
from a
RUNNING FAUCET!

She’d circle the sink, emitting
a DEMANDING MEOW,
until I turned the water on
so she could drink!

She even taught UNCLE MUDD
(Drew) to turn the water on for her!


Watch a 7-Second MINI VID o’ Luper Drinking!
[Why did I post it? Because I CAN!!! LOL]

Loop’s favorite sleeping spot for many years
was in a BASKET a-top the
Head Board of my Water Bed.

AND!
She was my WAKEUP FAILSAFE!

I’d set my Alarm to wake me with
LOUD MUSIC. But, even though it
was blaring right ABOVE MY HEAD,
I’d sometimes SLEEP THROUGH IT!

Happily, Luper HATED the loud music!

If I didn’t quickly wake and turn it off,
She would reach down with one paw,
and carefully use ONE CLAW to
PICK AT ONE OF MY NOSTRILS!

She never left a MARK with her claw –
but, she would KEEP PICKING
until I finally woke up!

Luper was an incredibly active and healthy cat until about a month before her death.

In October of 2005 I noticed that she’d begun moving “slower” and didn’t seem quite so “alert” as normal.
When I took her to the Vet, Dr. Kathy discovered
a “lump” in her bladder = probably CANCER.
We hoped that, considering her age, it wouldn’t
grow very fast. And, since there wasn’t anything
to be DONE about it, we just went home
and carried on.

The first weekend of November, Linda & I went
to Texas to attend the Tex Ren Faire. When we
returned, I discovered that Luper had HIDDEN
from Mom all weekend … hadn’t eaten or had
anything to drink the whole time!

As soon as I began calling for her, Luper meowed
until I found her concealed in a cardboard box
within the Costume Closet.

After I pulled her out, she couldn’t walk …
She didn’t remember how to DRINK WATER …
and she wasn’t interested in EATING anything!

The next morning, Dr. Kathy discovered that the bladder cancer had substantially grown.
Dr. K told me we could intravenously hydrate her, and maybe she’d have “another week or
so” of life. But, it was clear that Luper wouldn’t ever again be “comfortable.”


So. Just before 11:00 am, on Tuesday, November 08, 2005 … at my request …
Luper was given an injection that caused her heart to stop.

It was very, very fast. She just stopped BEING.
Her eyes didn’t even close. Her “essence” just – suddenly – wasn’t THERE.
And, I was holding her while it happened.

I will NEVER, EVER,
stop missing
MY LUPER!

If I were still an ACTRESS, I could KICK ASS!

All I have to do to bring a flood of tears
from my eyes is to just THINK of
How Much I Miss My LOOP!

After Luper’s death, there was such
a HUGE HOLE in my HEART,
that I HAD to find another baby!

On Friday, November 11, 2005
I went to the Humane Society to
scope out their kittens

They had about five of them.
And, I held each in turn.
But ONE of them just
GLOMMED ONTO ME!

VIRGINIA!!!
[aka., GINNY!]

[They’re not “narrated” yet, but you can See VIRGINIA’s Baby Pix Here!]

JELLY NEVER really LIKED Sylvia!
She barely TOLERATED Jean Pierre.

And she wasn’t interested in the RAMBUNCTIOUS GINNY KITTEN – at all!

The ENTIRETY of Jelly’s 16 years of life had revolved around her BOND with LUPER!

So, after Luper’s death, Jelly felt “ALL ALONE!”

Even though Ginny brought us back to FOUR KATZ …

JELLY still felt ALL ALONE.

How do I know that?

Because, JELLYLORUM
– who was only 16 years old,
and had NEVER had a single day
of sickness in her ENTIRE LIFE –
began to just … gradually …
WHITHER AWAY,
after Luper’s death!

And, 40 days after Luper died,
JELLY WAS DEAD.
My Jellylorum died of a broken heart!
She simply couldn’t live without Luper.
And, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop her from dying.
Since Ginny still
was only a Kitten
when Jelly died,
we couldn’t get
another Kitten.

(Kittens need and deserve
a TON of
INDIVIDUAL
ATTENTION!)

Thus, since
December 18th, 2005,
we have been “only”
THREE.

But, HEY!!!
We are a VERY HAPPY THREE!

Use Your BACK BUTTON to Return To Where You Came From
OR! …

Return to CHAS’s NEW KATZ PIX DIRECTORY
(begun in February 2009)

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(the one with other Fandamily Page Links)

If you have suggestions for The Miller Fandamily Web Site,
OR contributions to the photo gallery!
please Email WebMistress Chas!
c-d-miller@neb.rr.com
That’s: c-d-miller@neb.rr.com –
those are hyphens/dashes (-) between the “c” and “d” and “miller”