Our sweet Tiger ... one heck of a cat...

Amanda came home last weekend ...

... and I took photos of she and Tiger napping on the sofa together...

... as well as a closeup of the mani Tiger got at the Vet's earlier in the week.

Little did I know when I took these photos, that they would be the last pictures I would ever take of our Tiger.

We lost our sweet little girl this past Wednesday.

(Photo taken Apr. 4, 2015)

She would have been 22 years old this month (August).

Amanda and Tiger go way back. In September of 1993 when we were looking to adopt a kitten, we somehow came home with two, a brother and a sister from the same litter. Amanda chose Tiger while Courtney chose her brother Spotty.

From that very first night until many years later when Amanda left for college, Tiger slept with Amanda on her bed... every single night.

In Tiger's younger days, she was quite a wild child, even managing to get up onto - and walk across - the beams in the family room.

When Amanda made her home in the city after graduating from college, she thought Tiger would be happiest in the house she had always known. Amanda's old bedroom became my studio/office... 

... and Tiger became my roommate. Amanda and Tiger's bed stayed in place as that was Tiger's comfort zone and the place she continued to sleep every night. This was the view I had from my painting desk. Little Tiger. I could not have asked for a more perfect view.

In recent years, Tiger preferred to spend most of her time in the bedroom/studio/office...

... with just occasional jaunts down the hallway to see what snacks were being served in the kitchen. She and Mr. J had a lot in common, nothing more so than their love of treats.

When we first became roommates, I jokingly referred to Tiger as my muse. Sometimes she'd sit under my desk, just looking up at me while I painted. One time I put her on my lap and she kept studying the 'work in progress.' She'd then turn and look up at me. That went on for quite a bit. I found her 'advice' very helpful while I worked on that piece, all the more fitting now considering the quotation I used.

I will miss you my sweet roomie. We all will. The room seems so empty without you.

(Tiger in her new bed, Apr. 2, 2015)

This was a bed on top of Tiger's big bed. She was able to get into it and stay warm.

We were so blessed to have had you in our lives for so many years.
Love you, Tiger.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Mary, you don't have a blog so I wasn't able t visit you, but thank you for your sweet comment. We're also in New England. And to answer your question, when Tiger was young she was an amazing climber/jumper. She would jump from the back of our sofa to the top of a hutch. From the hutch she would jump onto the top of one of the built-in closets in the Family Room that had a flat top rather than extending all the way up to the cathedral ceiling. From the top of the closet she'd jump up to one of the two beams that run across the entire span of the family room. She was an incredible kitty. And I know what you mean. My whole life I've said, "never again" when we lose one of our fur babies because the pain is just too intense. But, like you, we then think of how many more fur babies are out there who desperately need a loving home... 

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Laura, thank you so much for your kind comment. I wasn't able to figure out how to visit you (or even if you had a blog) as I've never updated my Google. I believe some day we will be together again, too!!! Thank you.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Jeannine, thank you so much for visiting and commenting on our sweet Tiger. I love how you described her, "a fine lady." That she was. Thank you.