My Punkin was the reason I started rescue. Her story is below. Sadly, I lost her on May 7, 2008. She had been declining for a week and one morning, she just looked up at me and it was as clear as if she spoke: "Mommy, my body is just worn out. I need to leave." I was so upset and didn't want to hear it... I took her outside where she walked over and laid in the sunshine but was very weak. I took her back to the bedroom and she looked at me again and I just couldn't ignore the message. She died peacefully on my chest in the sunshine with the birds singing in the cedar trees behind my vet's office. It was very hard to let her go, but when they tell you it's time, you have to listen.

Punkin would have been 23 years old in June. Living with kidney failure for many years, it's amazing she had as long of a life as she did. Because of her, many hundreds of cats got second chances at happy, full lives.

Her Story:
In January of 1986, my first husband and I were doing laundry at our apartment complex. While going in and out of the apartment, we noticed a pretty young orange kitten near the sewer drain. She followed us up to our unit. Not knowing anything about cats, I put a bowl of warm milk out and went back to the laundry room. The last time I entered the apartment, I put the basket of warm laundry on the bed and went back out to find the kitten. She was nowhere to be found and the milk was frozen. After a bit, I went back to the bedroom and there she was, curled up in the laundry basket. My ex convinced me we should keep her and try to find her owners. Thank God no one claimed her.

I actually didn't like cats but he did, so he convinced me to give her a chance. Little did I know that she would be the reason that I started rescue. Punkin, who lived until she was nearly 23 years old,was the sweetest cat that has ever lived. She was a blessing that I am grateful for every day. In kidney failure, with thryoid disease, and a bad mouth, she continued to amaze everyone the last few years of her life. Right up until then end, she still enjoyed life and going outside (supervised, of course). Had she not been such a great cat, I really don't know if all of this rescue work would have started. To date, I have spayed/neutered and/or rescued, well over 500 cats, all because she taught me what great creatures cats are.

Here are a few pictures of Poo, one of her many nicknames. She crawled out of that storm drain and changed my life forever.