Rachel came to join the family of special needs cats and dogs who live in our home in 2005. She was with us a little over a year.
She came with her brother Danny, who had the calicivirus and had survived pneumonia shortly after birth.
Rachel never grew to full size, her full coat never came in, and she had some eye problems requiring surgery. She struggled with a rare blood disorder and cancer.
Rachel spent part of each day cuddled with her brother Danny, as in the photo at the bottom of this page, but she was also one of the small cats adopted by Maggie, a partially paralyzed Dachshund who moved in with us earlier this year. Rachel and the other small cats would go up to Maggie who would give them a vigorous examination and washing with her tongue, cleaning their ears, eyes, and every inch of their fur, until they finally snuggled down together to rest.
Rachel had her own way of doing things. When she went from place to place, her movements looked less like those of a cat than a horse's working gate. When you carried her, she preferred to wrap her front paws around your neck and hang on as you went from place to place.
She seemed to create a special place for herself in the heart of everyone who met her.
She died at home suddenly, unexpectedly, seemingly instantly. We tried CPR but she was gone. Her spirit and memories are everywhere in our home.
Here are two more photographs of her:
Please follow this link to the family of special-needs dogs and cats who live in our home.