Blackie 6 years black Kidney stone, Quesnel
Alphonse 5 years grey Became lax about using litter box. Given to “farm,”
Quesnel
Albert 2 years grey Same as Alphonse. They seemed to encourage each
other in their scatological habits
Jennifer 1 year orange Run over on street, Quesnel
Wally 1 year orange Fell out of travel trailer going over Pavillion
Mountain, may be living happily at farm on top of
mountain
Cindy 7 years black/white Run over on sidewalk, Kamloops
Fred 3 years grey/white Jumped into someone’s car in Burnaby, escaped into
parking garage, was picked up by loving family, lived
long life (you can always hope)
Harriet 1 year brown Stolen, Burnaby
Blackie #2 3 years black Eaten by dog, McLure
Patches 3 years tri-colour Run over by train, McLure
Sid Vicious 2 years black Run over on street, Kamloops
Mickey 1 year brown Probably stolen, Kamloops
Rocket 4 years grey Killed on street, Kamloops
Stripe 7 years brown Heart attack, after four expensive trips to vet for
injuries sustained in defending backyard, Kamloops
Lionel 2 years brown Very smart cat who learned to open the window to let
himself out but was not smart enough not to drink
antifreeze. Died of congestive heart failure after we
declined the vet’s offer of a heart transplant,
Vancouver
Total number of cats within kids’ memories: 17
Total number of years of cat ownership: 48
Average length of cat lives: 3 years
image © Terry Plummer