Cat: Calleach – Gailes, Brisbane, Australia (Died Jan 25, 2012)

It’s been only a day since the passing of my beloved companion Calleach (pronounced Carly), named after the Celtic Goddess. She was a gift from a friend when only 6 weeks old and finally died aged 18 years and so time has come to say a reluctant farewell to a much loved companion.

She is sorely missed and survived by 2 daughters still in my company. She was definitely strong willed and took no guff from anyone. Not even the dog that robbed her of one of her eyes years ago. She was also a very loyal companion and totally trusting in me and those I was trusting in.

I miss all her little quirks and such. She loved to sleep with me on the bed many a night but lately had a spot in the yard she loved. She’s now buried at that spot in the back yard where I can commune with her daily. She would copy a certain gesture I used on her to wake me in the mornings.

I used to touch my fingers to my lips9ps and then hers. She’d do the same with me showing she understood it as a gesture of love. She’d also find her way onto my lap barely 30 seconds after I sat down often resulting in scratches if I either was getting up again or she misjudged her landing. God I miss that. She’d also often end up on my shoulder gingerly pawing at any food I was eating. Though she never took unless it was offered and I would normally offer. She wasn’t treated as a cat, rather as a daughter and an equal which is how I thought of her.

Never once was she treated harshly though she occasionally voiced her disapproval if I didn’t get up when she was trying to wake me, if I was getting up when she wanted to be on my lap, etc. And I’d generally give in to her.

She would often greet me a half block away from home when I came back from work., get her her pat and cuddle and eagerly walk beside me until we got home around 11:30pm. She’d also rather a cuddle than food when it came to the nitty gritty. I could put food down and offer a cuddle. She’d take the cuddle every time.

She was a great mum as well. Definitely had the motherly instinct and would never miss a moment with her kids. 2 of which are still with me.

All in all. Calleach, you are missed dearly. I couldn’t have asked for a better companion and you will always be in my heart. Farewell dearest Calleach. Thank you for the gift that was you. Thank you for the love we got to share. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life. Thank you for just being you.

Thank you for the joy you brought into my life. Thank you for everything. I miss you so much. Thank you for letting me be there during your last hours. I may not know your exact birth date but I know you passed on on the 25th January 2012 at 2:20 am with me there holding you

Farewell Calleach my dearest. May you rest in peace. You’re always in my heart and thoughts.

Your loving companion

James, aka Daddy

Cat: Mocha (Snow Shoe) – Wilsonville, OR (1998 – Dec 24, 2011)

Mocha was just a kitten when he was found under someone’s air vent under their house. The founder took him door to door asking if he was theirs. My dad fell in love with him, an adorable little tyke with a white underbelly and black raccoon mask with light colored fur that eventually darkened as he got older.

We took him in immediately where my dad came up with the name, Mocha for his colored fur mixture was like the drink. That was 1998, nearly 14 years ago.

Over those 13 and a half years, Mocha had gotten into a fair share of troubles, one night coming home after escaping outside, only I to look for him, nearly giving up and praying to god he’d return safe with his companion Latte’, another kitten we had found that same day as he.

He came home as I waited past midnight all excited to be home. But the next morning we found he had been bit and his leg became infected. After costly surgery he was fixed up good as new causing trouble like it was no one’s business.

He was always a very friendly cat, we had taught him all sorts of tricks and he knew his name very well. He’d even quietly respond to you if he felt the need. But he always understood two things, “Come here Mocha!” and “No!” Mocha was Always happy when I came home, always wanting to be rubbed, his belly scratched and told goodnight before I went to bed. Over the near 13 and a half years, I always felt his death would come without my knowing, missing, alone, afraid.

Sadly, on Christmas Eve of 2011, while only a few feet from my bedroom door where he liked to watch me work hoping I’d invite him to my room like usual, went into convulsions dying in my mother and I’s arms. It shocks us greatly that such an active member of my family, a healthy if not stocky snow shoe cat, could die so suddenly, on a blessed holiday such as Christmas.

Mocha is gone now, the pain weighs heavily on my heart, but grateful that my dad, who took him in, who lives so far away now, was able to see him and say hello and merry Christmas just moments before his death.

I will miss his loud purrs and his hungry attitude, always begging for the noms he enjoyed, and the rubs he received. Running to my bed as I talked to my girlfriend, or playing games with me to get a purr. Looking out my bedroom window to see the activity near by.

Good bye Mocha, a member of my family who I will always remember and cherish our friendship so much. I miss you buddy, I miss you.

I will always love you,
JAMES

Cat: London (Tabby) – Lehighton, PA (1992 – 2011)

London …. your lovely coat, your ability to adapt to different houses as you moved and therefore make the new home home, your attitude of composure, the way you found a niche and was comfortable in it, the way you adapted to life with gasp dogs, you ability to adjust to your changing circumstances living upstairs or down, the way you integrated yourself into life with children, life with a couple, visiting children, your air of dignity, your enjoyment of the sunlight.

The tenth good thing about London was the love that he inspired. That is his legacy. London, you will always be in our hearts!

Cat: Zoey (Domestic Shorthair Tuxedo) – Brooklyn, NY
(1990 – Dec 1, 2011)

Zoey the cat, who witnessed the fall of apartheid and the rise of Occupy Wall Street, and who weathered countless airplane, car, subway and bus trips as she traveled across Africa and the United States, died at her Brooklyn home Dec. 1 after a short illness. She was at least 21 years old.

Zoey was born in South Africa, about the same time Nelson Mandela was released from prison, and was a reflection of her homeland: mainly black, with some white; stoic and resilient in the midst of upheaval; a bit battered but beautiful.

Like her adoptive caretaker, she survived countless close calls as she adapted to the whims of various news organizations. She was abducted by wild dogs in West Africa; held hostage by corrupt customs agents in Ivory Coast; threatened with deportation by airport officials in South Africa; confronted by ice-pick wielding burglars in Johannesburg; hit by at least one car; forced to do battle with rabid rodents, reptiles and large winged insects; and struck by several mysterious illnesses in sub-Saharan Africa. In New York, she endured a tornado, a hurricane, and an earthquake.

Perhaps her most harrowing episode was in 2005, when she lived secretly for several weeks at a hotel in Santa Maria, Calif., the base of journalists covering the Michael Jackson trial. The trauma included listening to replays of “Never Can Say Goodbye” while reporters rehashed testimony from the trial each evening.

In later years, Zoey gave up traveling and retired to a sunny apartment in Brooklyn Heights, where she lived happily until falling asleep quietly and forever in the arms of her devoted caretaker.

Cat: Zac (Bobcat Manx) – Franklin, TN (Jul 7, 1991 – Dec 11, 2011)

Zac lived a long and happy life on a farm in Tennessee.  He was a beautiful, black Bobcat Manx who had a wonderful disposition.

He was loved by his feline brothers and sisters, and he returned everyone’s love.  Zac was a constant presence in my life for over twenty years.

He lived as long as he possibly could, and he was the oldest cat in my vet’s practice.

I was most fortunate to have Zac in my life for so many years.

Rest in peace, old friend – no more struggling to walk and no more being hungry.

Cat: Humperdink – Wesley Chapel, FL (Feb 14, 1995 – Nov 11, 2011)

I found Humperdink outside a video store I was working at in 1996. The vet said he was about a year and a half old. Over time I elected his birth date to be Valentine’s Day 1995 because of my great love for him.

He and I did everything together. He helped me with my college work (he loved the highlighter); He helped me hold down magazines and papers; He helped me wrap presents (he loved the ribbons); He helped me make the bed; He watched movies and TV with me. His favorite game was hide and seek. If there is such a thing as a pet being a soul mate then Humperdink was my pet soul mate.

Humperdink was a very unique cat. He often would tell us when there was trouble. For example, he once told us the air conditioner drip pan was leaking. He also did some interesting things. He would sit on a desk or table and pretend he was doing nothing and then reach over very slowly with one paw and stick out one claw and pull my glass over.

I taught Humperdink to walk on a harness. He enjoyed going for walks outside and loved to chomp on grass. He would sit on the front sit of the car and ride around. Everyone who met Humperdink loved him and made comments about how beautiful he was. Looking into his blue eyes was like gazing into an ocean.

Cat: Pooh (Siamese) – Florence, KY (1995 – Oct 30, 2011)

Today we have to say goodbye to our beloved Siamese girl cat. Pooh lived an incredible life spanning 16 years, born in 1995, and passed away October 30, 2011.Pooh was a total diva.

She was a purebred, lavender point, traditional Siamese, and could have been a show cat in her younger days. She was beautiful, and she knew it.

You could see nothing but love in those bright blue eyes. She got whatever she wanted, when she wanted it, and never took no for an answer. She was the queen of the world.

If there was one thing Pooh was good at, it was snuggles. She was by far the sweetest thing on four legs. 24 hours a day, she had to be in the lap, or by the side of a loved one. (or “pet humans” in her mind) She was loved by so many, and she dearly loved everyone just as much.

In her later days, her cat bed was her sanctuary. It became known as her throne. It was the one place she found the absolute most peace, and was her prized possession. Today we laid her to rest with her throne, so she could take it with her. She spent her last day surrounded by the people she loved so much, and left us peacefully.

Rest In Peace, little lady. You are a beloved member of our family, and will be dearly missed by so many.

Cat: George Washington (DSH) – Las Vegas, NV (Mar 07, 1992 – Oct 28, 2011)

George Washington was more than a cat.  He was a friend, a companion, and a confidant.  He was an expert at hunting leaves, scrabble, and squeezing into boxes half his size.  Always a professional, he wore his red tie with pride, and greeted all visitors who came to visit.

George only allowed me, from the age of 6, to pick him up and play with him.  I would put him in the recycling bins and take him for rides around the house.  I hated playing hide and seek at my house because George would always follow me and be a dead giveaway to my hiding spot.

Every night he came and laid next to me, with his head on the pillow next to mine.  Once I fell asleep, he would leave and go do whatever it is a cat does at 2am.  But he always came back in the morning to wake me up and put his head on the pillow again.  He did this until I moved away for college.

When I was in high school, George almost died a couple of times from multiple ureter blockages.  After the third one, we couldn’t afford to keep treating him, and we thought we would have to put him down.   The vets helped us out, put George on a special diet (that he hated and wouldn’t eat) and luckily George didn’t get a stone again.   He didn’t have to go to the vet for years.

I watched George grow from a kitten, to a striking young lad,  to a funny senile old man.  He decided a year ago that he would only drink water from the toilet, only pee on the towel NEXT to the litter box, and walk around the house yelling at anyone who would listen.  If you didn’t give him enough attention, he’d bite your leg.

One of the funniest memories I have of him is jumping up on my sister’s lap, licking her face, then peeing all over her, completely out of the blue.  I laughed so hard, I too almost peed my pants.

Cat: Ambrosias (Persian) – (1989 – Oct 28, 2011)

My precious family cat Ambrosias was put down this evening. I was at work when my mother called to let me know. My cat was 22 years old and he loved sleeping and snuggling with my mother and brother.

Ambrosias couldn’t walk anymore and he hadn’t ate in 3 days. They found out he had kidney failure and my mother put him down this evening.

He was placed in a little white box and my mother is going to have a little ceremony tomorrow for him at our house. He was the first animal we got and he was the last one to get sick.

R.I.P. Ambrosias -lover of playing with string and lazer pointers.

You will be missed. 22 years old you lived a long wonderful life! we will think of you everday. You were our first pet and the last one to get sick! Forever in our hearts!!

Jillian, Mom, Dad, Steve & Anna

p.s make sure you are good to Keesha she will take good care of you! xoxo

Cat: Ally (Long-Haired Domestic) Omaha, NE (Feb 28, 1994 – Oct 14, 2011)

I loved my cat more than anything.

We had her for 17 long and wonderful years and I wouldn’t trade a day of them for anything in the world.

The greatest companion and friend any person could EVER ask for.