pets

On August 26, 2013 we found Annie, or rather, she found us, as we took a walk in a public park. She emerged from the woods and came over to greet us as if we were long lost friends. She was gaunt, but in otherwise very good health. We left her in the park that first evening — she seemed to want it that way — but returned the next day with a pet carrier. Once again she appeared but this time we placed her in the carrier and took her away. Checking with local shelters and the animal warden for reports of lost cats, we sought to leave her with an agency for adoption. The shelters were full and, in the mean time, we fell in love. She joined our household. Through a house move, happy times and sad, Annie was with us. In the end, she developed small cell lymphoma and, while medicine helped comfortably extend her life, the disease finally reached her kidneys and, on June 3, 2025, we felt we had to say goodbye. Months later I still think about her daily and miss her warm, quiet presence. Thanks to camera phones we have many more photos of this feline companion than of all others that shared our lives before her. Here is a random selection of some pictures of dear Annie:

Photo: Tasha, cat. Photo by James Guilford.

Tasha in Her Prime

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to feline family member Tasha today. I came down to the main floor this morning and discovered her standing, seemingly lost. She had been sick numerous times. Tasha was also having intestinal distress; so we took her to the veterinary clinic to try and understand her condition. Tasha, at about age 16, had been in failing health for some time and was thought likely to have lymphoma. Dr. R., new to us at the clinic, was kind and gentle in her examination and in her discussions with us but reported Tasha likely had only a couple of months to live. We agonized over the choices: treat and “make comfortable” or euthanasia. The awful choice was made to spare our cat the continued and increasing suffering. So, at a little before 3:00 this afternoon, Tasha’s life ended.

The beginning of our time with Tasha came when we adopted her at a big box pet store from a local cat rescue group; that was on July 1, 2000. We took our new kitty to our vet for tests and found, to our horror, that she tested FIV-positive. We nearly returned her to the agency. We did crash research, however, including a call to the Cornell Feline Health Center, on the risks to our resident cats of sharing life with an FIV+ animal; we determined the risk was low. We also learned Tasha’s rescue story: found in a box, discarded with trash, her murdered kittens with her. There are everyday monsters out there living among us, posing as decent human beings.

With us Tasha found love and care and, we hope, a happy life. We nursed her through several health issues including hyperthyroidism, and high blood pressure.

Photo: Tasha the cat. Photo by James Guilford.

Tasha watches the snowy world from the comfort of a place mat on the dining room table. Photo by James Guilford.

The last couple of years saw Tasha lose sight in one eye, lose most of her hearing, and develop a limp in one leg. What we’ll remember, however, is an affectionate cat that would often snuggle with us in bed, sometimes sharing my pillow, and who waited at the door for me to come home from work on late nights.

We will miss you, dear one.

PhotonStopper

Life, the Universe, and Everything….

All posts tagged pets

Dear Annie

We will miss you, dear one

Blogroll

Recently:

Needful Things