Reply #35: What a beautiful

[QueenOfCalifornia]

story. Eloquently told.

As someone who understands lighting (It was my minor in college) I am aware of the era where ceilings were just imagined. I was telling my 9 year old son about this very thing a couple of weeks ago.

Your cat was a bit unique... Did you know that orange cats are usually male? Of course they are not as rare as a male calico but as a rule, if you see a brightly colored orange-striped cat they are male. I had a orange female who had long fluffy fur and was a more dusty shade of orange - she was my next best cat - she was quite old when she had to be put down due to stomach cancer. I cried for a couple of weeks over Der Bengal's death - she was very smart and loved to ride with me in my '68 Coup de Ville Convertible - We got lots of grins and thumbs up signs while driving through S. CA with the wind blowing through our hair! She found me. Yep, she had been abandoned where I lived in a condo in La Jolla, she was living in some bushes and when I would pass by, she would come out and meow - then one day a neighbor told me the owner of the cat had moved away and just left her! Well, she had no collar and no name so I named her Der Bengal. She had been declawed so she couldn't even protect herself, poor thing. Anyway, she moved in and became a major player in my life story. I miss her all the time.

Then I had another orange male cat - he was a shelter cat who we adopted when he was 14. I knew no one would adopt that old cat and so he came home where we loved him for the last 3 years of his life. We all still miss him as well. He was more of my husbands cat than mine - and I was the one who demanded we bring him home. (ingrate.) anyway - he was my kids first cat -

We are very saddened by Spike leaving us... very, very sad.

I am sorry for the loss of your wonderful cat... roads are not very forgiving.