Zoey 1994 - 2008

I lost a very good friend today. My little girl Zoey died in her sleep this afternoon. Zoey and I had been together since I found her at the pool in 1994. She has stuck with me through college, graduate school, marriage, roommates, boyfriends, other cats, dogs and 12 moves. She was the alpha cat and let the rest of us live with her in the house. She was a fighter and goofy lady all at the same time. She loved to be scratched between her shoulders and have her cheeks rubbed. She preferred human food over cat food. If you ate anything with dairy.... cereal with milk, ice cream, yogurt, cheese... she was instantly your best friend and wouldn't leave you along until you shared. She loved everyone who came to visit... Kurtis and I always joked that she liked everyone else but us. There was running gag in our house that Zoey was for sale or for rent to a good home, but I wouldn't of given her up for anything. She was a sweet girl, slightly demanding and wanting things her way which we always gave into. She looked like an overripe banana as she was a tortoise shell calico, but her markings were beautiful. I have never seen a totri as beautiful as Zoey.

Zoey came into my life in the summer of 1994 when I was a life guard. Someone had abandoned her at the pool and two little girls brought her to the office. She didn't seem to be doing very well as she slept all day on my bag. I took her to the vet the next day and they couldn't believe that this little tiny kitten was still alive. She had a temp of 108, ear-mites, worms, fleas and was anemic. I had to give the poor thing 2 pills, liquid vitamin, and squirt goop into her ears 3 times a day for 4 weeks. I took her to school with me so I could give her her drugs and she slept in my shoulder bag all day. When she did bounce back she instantly became the queen of the house.

Her favorite things were fresh catnip and teasing the neighborhood dogs. She would play fight with Pleko (one of our other cats) and usually let him win, as he didn't have any claws but she would let him know who was boss. She loved to sit on the porch and sleep in the sun...... and that is where I found her this afternoon. When Kurtis and I went to brunch she and Pleko were asleep on the porch in the sun. Since we were not going to be gone long and there are not going to be too many more sunny day's left I decided to leave them be and shut the door. When we came home a little while later Kurtis opened the porch door and Pleko came bounding in. Zoey was still asleep. I went out to check on her, as I assumed she was soaking up the sun and found that she was dead. Curled up as if she was asleep.

My little baby girl... you are missed already and will be missed always.