Well, what can I say about Rosie?  First of all, she was unique - the only tortoiseshell in a litter of tabbies, and she was the runt of the litter.  We fell in love with her straight away, and she became part of our lives for the next 14 years.  She was loving, loyal, feisty and we loved her beyond reason.  She would see off cats twice her size, and run sideways down the garden path like a crab, growling all the way, and would come in looking very pleased with herself!  She loved to sit on the nearest lap, and curl up to sleep, purring like a little engine.  We always said her purr broke the sound barrier!  She used to sit at the top of the stairs, and peep round the corner, as if to say 'Here I am!'.  She was so full of life.  She used to sleep on my bed right next to my head, and often I used to find her in my son's room, both sleeping, with his arm around her and her head resting on his arm.  It warmed my heart.  For the next 14 years, Rosie Posy, as we often called her, brought love and laughter into our lives, and we couldn't imagine a time without her.  Then my mum commented that her sight wasn't as good as it had been, and she couldn't find the sofa to jump on to it, and kept missing it.  I rearranged the furniture to help her, and despite her failing sight, she seemed happy, as long as she was fed, watered, and had a comfy lap.  I didn't let her out after that, as I was afraid she would get confused and get lost.  One day, she tried to jump on to my lap and missed, and got angry, growling at me like she never had before, and went upstairs.  I left her to calm down, and went up to see her shortly after.  She was hiding under my son's bed, but she eventually came out, and I stroked her gently, but this time she didn't purr which was so unlike her. Suddenly, she backed up, and went into a horrific seizure, her body and limbs thrashing wildly.  It didn't last long, but she seemed confused, and her legs wouldn't work.  I called my friend, and she came with me to the vet.  He did a blood test, and when the results came back, it was discovered she had kidney failure, and the vet found a lump on her kidney, which he suspected was a tumour.  She couldn't stand properly and was drooling.  When I looked at her, her face was blank, there was nothing there.  My bright eyed little girl had gone, she didn't even know I was there, she just sat there, unmoving, it was heartbreaking.  The vet at first suggested she could be treated, but when my friend questioned him further, he said there was not much hope for her, so I as I held her, and told her I loved her, my heart broke as hers stopped, ending 14 years of beautiful love and companionship. Run free over Rainbow Bridge, darling Rosie, we will meet you there one day, until then - know that you were loved xxx