Cat: Daisy (Calico) – Ontario, Canada (1996 – 02/12/2011)

This is a loving tribute to Daisy, who was a precious gift to my parents for almost 15 years. My parents picked her out of a crate at a vet’s office. Daisy was their first cat.

She was tiny and flea infested at first, but she soon settled in. She wasn’t a cuddler or hugger though so we never were able to hold her, she’d back away, but she did accept hand fed treats.

Daisy added joy to my parent’s world and made them chuckle. They loved her dearly. She loved to play footsie with my dad every single day. She also had a pretty girl trill with some of us.

RIP sweet little girl. We’re thankful that your illness was very brief and hope that you’re running the meadows across Rainbow Bridge with our Rusty and Spinner.

Not gone, just gone ahead.

Cat: JD (Orange Tabby) – Albuquerque, NM (05/19/96 – 10/17/10)

In loving memory of my Gato Fato, my companion and dear friend of many years.

I love you buddy!

I miss you!

Cat: Rusty (Orange Longhair Tabby)– Waterloo, Ontario / Canada
(Adopted 09/1990 – 10/26/2009)

To our Rusty,

After a healthy, happy purr-fect life of 19 years, you crossed the Rainbow Bridge and are now with your buddy, Spinner, who died in August. (http://www.fondpetmemories.com/2009/08/23/cat-spinner-ontario-canada/).

The vet said that it’s common for pets, like people, to die close together. We know you missed Spin. We know that it was your time and we are glad that you were at home.

This is your tribute, Rusters, and we celebrate your life and thank you for being a part of our lives for so long. You were my first cat. I remember getting you home, an orange fluff ball in my hand. You were protective and you hissed when my husband arrived in our lives a month later.

You soon learned to love and respect each other. Spinner was adopted shortly after and he taught you how to be a cat. Fast friends right away. You were the obvious patriarch, looking after Spin, washing his face, letting him snuggle with you.

You were my shadow, always just a step or arms length away. You loved to lie right on our chests, on our hearts and just stare at our faces. You loved your chin being scratched and those white whiskers would just perk right up. You were always at the frig when the cool air rushed out. How many times did we step on you because you were under our feet?

You were licking ice cubes on hot summer days.. You loved licking a fruit yogurt container when I was almost done. You loved licking peanut butter off my fingertips. The smell of tuna created a quick and vocal reaction. You loved rolling around on the front porch concrete on your back. You knew what ‘dinner’, ‘treats’, ‘drink’ meant. You were such a talker, trilling and meowing all the time.

We miss our chats. As you lost your hearing, your meows were so loud we figure because you couldn’t hear yourself.You loved to play hide and seek with hubbie, racing around the kitchen island. Round and round you’d both go, having so much fun!

We thought you had used up your 9 lives when you got so sick October 2008 but we nursed you back to health for 6 weeks. You lost a lot of muscle and you really were a little ‘bag of bones’ only weighing around 6 lbs.

You kept on going, up and down the stairs, jumping into the jacuzzi tub to slurp water out of the dripping tap or whatever sink was closest. After your illness, you became a lap lover. We figure you just were seeking warmth, heat and comfort but we loved that. If there was a lap waiting, you were always on a mission to settle in and claim it.

There is such an emptiness in our lives now with you and Spin gone. We’re comforted knowing that you’re at peace and pain free but we miss you both terribly. Little Groucho misses you both too and we’re giving him extra cuddles and pats to help him.

You’ll be in our hearts forever and ever. Love you and miss you, our wonderful friend.

Cat: Peabo (Callico) – Boulder, CO (07/04/1995 – 04/21/2009)

On April 21, 2009, I had to put my cat, Peabo to sleep. She had been sick for a few weeks, not eating or drinking.

I had been trying to get her to eat anything, but she just wouldn’t. We went to the vet that night. They told me she had liver problems and so on and so forth.

I got Pebbles when I was 7 years old. She was a gift from our next door neighbors. She was my very first pet, and I was allowed to pick her out of the whole bunch. She was the only cat in the litter with such pretty spotted fur. All the other cats were gray or black and white. But Peabo was different.

She’s gone through many different houses, and many different living situations. From being the only cat in the house to having a friend. And eventually the dogs came along too.

Peabo has been through thick and thin, she has survived accidental hangings and running into walls, and putting up with the overwhelming amount of attention I gave her over the years. If I could go back in time, I would never have done any of those things that I did to my cat. But I think overall, she still lived a good life.

I will always cherish the memories of her chasing my feet under the blankets at night when she was a kitten, and the few rare times when she actually wanted to sit on my lap and I was able to pet her. I will never forget this past year that she has been able to live in my house when I moved out of my parents house.

I am so grateful that my landlord let me bring her up. If I had known she was going to die so soon, I would have brought her up even sooner.

I love you Peabo. You were the best cat a girl could ever ask for. And you are very very missed.

Even now, that 6 months have passed and I have a new cat, I cry just thinking about you, and I think about you constantly.

Always and forever, baby.

Cat: Sadie – Milwaukee, WI  (05/29/2002 – 04/05/2009)

Sadie was the most loving cat a person could ever have. She was very playful, observant (she paid attention to EVERYTHING I did!) and had a keen sense of when tuna was in the house.

One day I had bought tuna…I had not opened it up yet and Sadie sat right in front of the fridge till I did!

We would play with toys; one of her favorite activities was we would play dice together. I would throw the dice and ask her what we threw!

The day before she passed, she jumped high in the sky, meowing and smiling.

I know she is looking out for me and is here with me…but it will be hard to sleep in the same bed she spent her final hours with me in.

I will always love you, Sadie.

Prayer For My Cat

Treat me kindly, dear master. Accord me the courtesy due to a cat — and I for my part will love you, amuse you and cheer your heart as only a cat can do.

Give me a sunny spot to sleep in when morning dawns and I will warm your lap on cold evenings.

Respect my independence and my need to walk alone at times and I will look after myself, so that you may come and go as you please.

Speak to me in our secret kitty language, let me hear my name sung in the music of your voice, and I will meow happily in sweet harmony with you.

Stroke my fur gently and lovingly and I will soothe you with the soft purrs that can only come from a happy cat.

Indulge my curiosity and I will show you the joys of bird watching, star gazing and other kitty pleasures.

Play with me and see me rejoice! Toss a humble ball of yarn and I will delight you with my cleverness and acrobatic leaps.

But do not laugh at me or allow me to be teased for there is nothing I prize more than my dignity.

Keep my surroundings neat and clean and I will be fastidious in my habits.

Feed me and be fair and I will teach you how to tell “kitty time” by instinct and tummy tunes.

And when I am old and the time comes to say farewell, hold me gently in your arms and I will go without a whimper.

For with you I am trusting, safe and secure. A cat who walked alone but loved you with a full and happy heart.

Cat: Pegs – Houston, TX (10/1995 to 02/2009)

Pegs was a sweetheart of a cat and named after my mother, Peggy. She showed up on our back doorstep on a cold October night. She sat, looking in the glass door meowing for someone to notice her.

We gave her a bowl of milk and she stuck around after that. Pegs was apparently already spayed and declawed, so she obviously belonged to someone. We knew that her time with us would just be temporary until we found her owner.

No one ever claimed her so as the weather got colder she made it into the garage, then the basement, and finally up into the rest of the house, as well as our hearts.

I was never really a “cat person”, I love all animals but I had never had a cat and was not too sure about them. Pegs quickly changed my mind on that matter. It took her some time to warm up to people, but once she warmed up to me, she quickly became my best buddy.

She would follow me around the house and was very much a lap cat. The second I sat down to watch TV she would come running from anywhere to join me.

We were blessed to have Pegs for 13 years and where ever she came from 13 years ago, they missed out on one very special cat.

The Harris Family,
Houston, Texas

Cat: Winston – Syracuse, NY (2/10/2008)

With eyes were always watching And ready to run from the hands that fed him. He lived with us for 18 years. The memory of great cats did not deter him from his ferol ways of isolation and caterwauling.

He was a common thread for the three of us and each of us in his or her own way did love him and did appreciate his weird sort of affection. Our cat’s certainly, his amazing longevity and perseverence, if not his lassitude will be missed.

He was an element of who we are and now he’s buried beside the holly bushes. In the end, this little cat taught us a message that will long outlast his life. He taught how important life is to even the least of all, his tenacity to hang on. He taught how far more important we are to each other than anything else - no mistake, no argument.

Nothing can ever be be more important than each other. So, in the end, we go on. Far better for Winston. Loving each other a little less for granted, and more aware of the precious passing moments that never come again.

Cat: Boots - Miami, FL (09/02/1999 to 03/12/2008)

My little Boots, you are now gone but never forgotten. The bond we developed between us was so strong. You would just cuddled in my arms at night and sleep. You loved sitting on my lap while I played on the computer.

My dedication to you and your cooperation in handling your diabetes made us inseparable. Together we got you back to a healthy cat. It was a wonderful feeling to see you go from 6 lbs To 18 lbs happy and alert. In May I took a little trip. I knew I couldn’t leave you with just anyone. You had special needs. I brought you to the vet that diagnosed you. I thought you would be safe; after all they had all your records. I would only be gone 5 days.

According to the vet doctor,  you went into depression and refused to eat. The vet said he felt it would be best not to give you insulin. Your diabetes went out of control and by the 4th day you went into a coma. I never received a call from the vet, so I had no idea what was happening. By the 5th day and my return home you had passed away. I remain heartbroken and miss you dearly, but I know you are now with Grandpa and Molly. I will be with you again one day.