Lilly, Mu Shue and Iris

Many of you have read the news reports and watched at least one video of the fire that destroyed several apartments in Laura's building yesterday. It started on her floor, but she wasn't home at the time. She is safe; however, her cats Lilly Lu, Mu Shue and Iris were inside. Short of a miracle, there is no hope they survived.

Everything - "charred to dust." Even before reading this description of Laura's apartment, our hearts were heavy, expecting the worst but still holding hope.

Sometimes life seems ironically cruel. These last months bloggers have regularly checked Lilly's blog for the latest news on her health. For a while Laura despaired of losing Lilly, but fought hard and got her into Tufts for an exam and then finally she had her surgery on April 2nd. Lilly was still recovering.

Laura still owes about $4000 on vet bills and now she is homeless, still awaiting word on her beloved cats. Last night must have seemed a week long as she waited for today when Animal Control and the Humane Society were to enter the building and search. Cat bloggers are still waiting on an update. There are occasions when time drags. This is one of them.

To add to the worry, Laura is expecting twins. Like many of you, we wish we could be there helping in some way. We can only imagine what Laura must be going through.

There are a couple of links to videos of the fire on Cat Blogosphere. If you scroll down there, you can read excerpts from a chat with Deb, who has spoken with a fireman who has seen Laura's apartment.

Life can change in a heartbeat. So while you have opportunity, humans, give your kitty or doggy an extra hug and a special treat - for Laura, who would love to be holding Lilly Lu, Mu Shue and Iris right now.

Update: We just visited Moki's blog and found some news. Cheysuli and Gemini have started an auction blog to help Laura. Contact them if you have some items to donate for auction.