R.I.P. Cat Number One
Last day in the sun
Cat number one passed away March 1st. She came to live with us in August 2003 at about 8 weeks old and was the first pet in our family. She was my birthday present that year, one of the best presents I ever had.
This post includes some photos from over the years, there seem to be a lot of them! They are from the family archive – snapshots with various point and shoot digital cameras. I have posted quite a few photos on this blog over the year, and mostly they can be found at this link. The picture above was taken on her last full day with us; she had found a patch of sun at the end of winter and spent a few hours in the sun after spending most of her time indoors while it was cold out. She weighed almost nothing at this point and it must have been hard to keep warm. Below our granddaughter shows off the quince tree that she helped choose and plant.
Her name was Membrillo, a kind of quince paste, named for the quince colours in her fur. We have buried her in the backyard under a quince tree to replace, in part, our apple tree which also passed away this year. Membrillo loved sitting in the shade of the King apple and we hope the quince will provide equivalent shade in a few years.
Memorial quince
In the apple tree, also now gone
She was a burrower, liked a cave for sleeping.
She’d pull her tail out of the cat door really slowly so it did not make noise and announce her arrival outside.
Get that fly
First venture out of doors
Closet cave
Why not?
What is better than a sunny windowsill?
Preferred shoulders when being held, insisted on them really.
If there was sun, then who cares about smelly boy boots and whisk brooms?
Zzzzzz
Who wants to play?
Running water was a strong preference.
As close to the fire place as possible.
Rest in peace
burnt embers 
What a beautiful little cat; looks like she had quite the personality (felinality?). So sorry that she couldn’t stay longer with you. I love all of the photos.
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Thanks Vicki – she had a terrific felinality (great word) and kept us good company for a long time.
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I’m sorry to hear your companion has left, but there are wonderful images here that will bring her essence back. My cat liked to drink from the dripping sink, too. The burrowing photograph is so, so sweet and the last one strongly reminds me of my Pablo, who left us shortly after we moved out here five years ago. Aren’t you glad you took all the pictures now?
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Thank you Lynn. It’s a comparatively cold essence, but a very welcome one and we are so glad to have the photos to remind us of what a great companion and Director of household matters that she was.
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What a beautiful kitty. I’m so sorry for your loss. But I’m glad you have such lovely photos and a quince to remember her by. And yeah, cats are so good at training humans, especially when it comes to food and Making Burrows Properly.
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Thank you skadhu! She was very beautiful. We are very glad of the photos, though it is still emotional to look at them. Agreed, especially food and M-B-P and a subclass of the latter, Making Suitably Still and Flat Laps.
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Very nice tribute to your old friend.
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Thank you Val. In truth, she ruled. Actually, that should be She.
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Long time cat lover here. (dogs too!) …have had the sweet ones and the not so sweet ones….all brought me much joy. Your photos are a wonderful tribute to a cherished family member.
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Thanks Sherry. She was cherished – our first true pet. Another cat adopted us, but was not really a pet as she was not interactive, just needed a warm place out of the rain. This one left a bit hole in all our lives.
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This is a lovely tribute to your sweet kitty. Thanks for sharing her with all of us.
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Thanks Melinda. She demanded the occasional post in these parts and deserved one final tribute.
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Fitting tribute.
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Thank you Chris! She is missed.
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So sad to lose a cat; they have a way of getting under your skin. Commiserations from another ailurophile.
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Thank you fellow ailurophile! This one really got under our skin. Fourteen years is a very long time to live with another being – we knew each other inside out. We could tell what kind of bird she was meowing at from the windowsill, and when she wanted us to lift the edge of the covers so she could burrow for her nap (when she was older and hated to do it herself) and so many other ways she had of telling us what she needed. We were so well trained.
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