Tag Archives: cat tribute

A Eulogy For My Beautiful Cat Morgan

Most of the many wonderful cats I have rescued over the years survived trauma before finding a peaceful home, whether forced to live on the streets, dumped at a shelter, left behind in an owner’s move, or was feral with kittens, all had traumatic experiences. But my beloved Morgan had to deal with more than most, because she was abandoned twice.

My role in her story began 17 years ago. At the time, all of my Saturday mornings were spent setting up and staffing a cat rescue adoption site at the Pet Food Express in Pleasant Hill. Before the cats were brought in by their foster parents, I would spend a couple of hours setting up tables, disinfecting cages, and putting up signage, adoption information and marketing materials. One unusual Saturday morning as I was in the midst of getting the site ready, a stranger walked up with a cat carrier. I was thinking, “boy this foster parent is showing up really early!” but this man didn’t act like a foster parent. He was instead agitated, aggressive and belligerent, and as soon as he saw me, he blurted out that his family no longer wanted “this cat” they had adopted from us two years ago. He complained she was shy, scared and terrified of his kids.

Tribute to Marcel, a Cat with the Biggest Heart, Soul, Spirit and Larger-Than-Life Personality

Marcel was one of those cats that was larger than life. He exuded personality and character. He was one of a kind. There will never be another Marcel. He was cool, calm, collected, brilliant, loving, charming and powerful. His stare penetrated right through you. He could size you up in an instant. He could “see” right through you to the depths of your soul. I’m just glad he couldn’t talk! He even growled and yowled at a couple of people who came to our house with negative energy. When he set his eyes on and stared at a fellow cat—only the strongest and most confident cat survived his stares, the rest spun around and ran for the hills yowling and screeching in fear the whole way–and this lasted for years. He intimidated his own species with his aloof coolness and inner power, but he melted the hearts of human beings. Everyone that met Marcel, fell madly, deeply, and truly in love with him. Marcel spoke the language of the love, he was heart-centered, and that was his gift. Marcel was simply irreplaceable. An icon cat. He was the cat’s meow. The bees knees. A total beauty. And he graced us with his irreplaceable spirit and life, and we were blessed to be in his presence, every day.

TRIBUTE TO MARCEL, A CAT WITH THE BIGGEST HEART, SOUL, SPIRIT AND LARGER-THAN-LIFE PERSONALITY
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Tribute to Alex the Cat With Nine Lives

The old English proverb about “A cat having nine lives,” goes on to say, “For three he plays, for three he strays, and for the last three he stays.” Though only a proverb, myth, or legend—and not to be taken seriously—it could not hold more true for our cat Alex, who survived against all odds, lived some of his life on borrowed time, and cheated death multiple times. Through all of his challenges and near-death experiences, Alex beat the odds and lived a surprisingly long life until August 2020, when he had a fatal stroke that left him paralyzed and took his life, his ninth and final life.

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A Tribute To My Beloved Pillow Kitty, Pasha

Pasha was a survivor. She was born fighting for her life, and her life ended the same way. Pasha was a fighter with a fierce life force and spirit to live, even when confronted with the most challenging physical problems to overcome. From the day Pasha was born in the drop box of the Martinez Animal Shelter, Pasha fought with all of her might to stay alive. She and her three newborn siblings and her mama were deathly sick with Feline Viral Rhinotacheitis (FVR), a common virus that spreads in animal shelters that can quickly devastate fragile, vulnerable kittens. When we brought Pasha, kittens and mama cat home to foster—one by one, the kittens succumbed to the virus following several visits to the emergency hospital to revive and treat them. But their tiny bodies could not defend against the virulent virus and they surrendered to the disease. Only Pasha survived along with her beautiful mother. Pasha had the life force of four lives in one. Now 18 years later, Pasha is fighting for her life again with every weak breath that is slowly taking her life and her vibrant, beautiful spirit with her. It is with so much sadness and heartbreak that we witness Pasha losing her battle to stay alive. In the last 24 hours, Pasha has developed rapid labored breathing, lethargy, weakness, and has stopped eating—as her physical body is letting go of life. And now, we are facing the toughest challenge, a day we wish would never come, the day we need to help our little Pasha go, to alleviate any further suffering for her.

A Tribute to My Beloved Pillow Kitty, Pasha
On Pasha’s last day
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A Tribute to the Most Loving Cat— Angus

On Saturday, we became painfully aware it was finally time to say goodbye to our beautiful, loving cat Angus. A neurological condition had developed in the past couple of years, causing increasing discomfort and stiffness in Angus’s hind legs and back end, and it finally overtook him on Saturday. Angus could no longer walk or stand up, his hind legs collapsing and folding underneath him. The truth is Angus’s strong, once-muscled, 18-year-old athletic body—finally gave out and broke. He died the day before the anniversary of my father’s death and two days before my mother’s birthday—on July 11, 2020. But Angus was dearly loved by his human and feline family, and had a most wonderful life.

A TRIBUTE TO THE MOST LOVING CAT— ANGUS
Angus always slept on our bed next to me

A Tribute to my Beloved, Beautiful Cat Marcello

Just over 12 years ago, a beautiful, lean and well-muscled orange tabby boy skulked and slinked low to the ground into our back yard—and started visiting our home. He was hungry and living outside during an exceptionally cold, wet winter when we were visited with constant storms and pelting rain. For three nights in a row, this orange beauty slinked across our patio to where our feral food bowls were located, right in front of our French doors, and scarfed up as much food as possible, before pivoting and discreetly walking away as quickly and quietly as he came. My first thought was that this orange tabby was a new feral joining our small band of neighborhood feral cats that I had taken responsibility to feed outside every night. These cats had come to depend on us for their nightly repast for many years now. But on second thought, I knew it was even more likely that this adult orange boy had probably been callously dumped and abandoned by some thoughtless person who decided to move away with one less belonging—tossing this helpless creature to fend for himself, while she or he went on their merry way. It was evident that he had been living outside for some time, as the tips of his ears were well chewed on—healed scars and wounds from cat fights that left him tattered, but alive. He was extremely fearful of seeing us in the window—so his physical contact with humans appeared to be long forgotten and now we were something to be feared. We were enemy number one for this boy.

A Tribute to My Beloved, Beautiful Cat Marcello
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A Tribute To My Beautiful Cat, Angel

On Sunday, December 10th in the early morning hours, I lost my greatest friend, my sweetest love, the most beautiful soul I have ever come to know on Earth. My Angel was beyond beautiful, she exceeded all definitions, and words can hardly describe her most profound and deeply beautiful spirit, but I will try in words to share our story and honor my beloved Angel in this written tribute to her. With a broken heart forever at her passing, and the deepest grief I can possibly feel, I want to share Angel’s deep soul, beautiful spirit and most profoundly loving being.

A Tribute To My Beautiful Cat, Angel
On my lap, her favorite place

Angel came to bless our lives when she was brought to our home in early spring of 2004. We bought our house in June of the previous year, bringing two rescue cats, Pumpkin who was homeless in Seattle and Red who was rescued from being dumped at the Oakland Airport. With our new house, in August, we decided to adopt another rescue cat, which quickly turned into two rescue cats from Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek. We were sure that — that would be the end of our kitty family!

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