thank you everyone for the kind words...Stormie is indeed hugely missed. I am so glad I wrote the blog about her, I haven't yet had the strength to go back to Day One when we first discovered the cancer (Christmas 2006) and read through the blog from start to finish...but I wil do. it is great to dip into it and remember her though...the first blog post is here if you are interested
http://thefurryfighter.blogspot.com/2006/12/not-such-great-christmas-present.htmli have to try and draw some positives as I still feel that Stormie was taken from us a little too early (12 years and 5 months old). her experience has encouraged a lot of people who read her blog to take out pet insurance - especially amongst her american readers (it is not such a big thing over there). her blog has also been a source of strength for people who discover their cat has lymphoma...they can see that you can beat the odds (Storm lived for 18 months instead of the predicted 6-9months). Storm's vet, who saw her through the whole illness, is also becoming a good friend, he is such a wonderful and gentle person and it is great to have people like that in your life.
Storm's brother...well, he is better than he was some weeks ago and only calls occasionally during the day now, usually in the morning for a minute or two. he seems much more relaxed than he did but I am sure he misses her, they were liter-mates. i allowed him to see Storm's body after she was PTS and i think it definitely helped, he washed her and lay next to her for two hours. he used to get incredibly upset and visibly depressed when she had to spend a day or two at the vet i.e. disappear - he hasn't done that this time, his behaviour is different, it seems like he is understanding, not confused. my only issue with him is that he spends 9 hours a day on his own now when I am at work(my partner or i do pop in to see him during our lunch hours though)...hence why i am considering a companion for him. i need to give him time to adjust, if he doesn't adjust though then i will see about adopting an older cat to keep him company.
gosh..i have rambled..apologies! x