Tiger Wilds

We adopted Tiger from the animal shelter when she was just 2 months old. She was a beautiful, friendly cat and we loved her very much. When my brother got a cat of his own, Tiger more or less became mine. She slept on my bed near my pillow, and put her paw on my cheek. She was my Dynasty watching buddy as well; The two of us never missed an episode.

When I moved out on my own when I was 21, I brought Tiger with me. I adopted a kitten, Alexis 1 year later and Tiger treated her like she was her own baby. I later adopted another adult cat, Leo in 1994. Tiger, Alexis and Leo all loved each other and would snuggle together on my bed. I kept meaning to take a picture of all three of them together but never did. They were adorable together and each of them had such beautifully colored fur. They looked so sweet all curled up and hugging each other.

When I moved to Ohio in 1996, I left my cats at my parents' home. I had planned to pick them all up at Christmas later that year, and bring them back to Ohio with my then fiance and I, but Tiger passed away in July at the age of 17. She passed away in her sleep on the couch in the den, right beside Alexis, who had her paw protectively around Tiger, her best friend. When my mom tried to take Tiger away, Alexis started crying loudly and that broke my mom's heart.

For weeks afterward, Alexis would go into my mom's bathroom and bring one of her tennis shoes back into the den and bring it up onto the couch where Tiger used to sleep. Alexis would hug the tennis shoe like she did Tiger, and she would start to wail. She wanted her friend back.

We brought Alexis and Leo back to Ohio with us that Christmas but Tiger was definitely missed. She was a sweet, loving and loyal cat and she was loved very much.