Believe me I know. I didn't know how I was going to handle loosing Tigger. My goodness, 23 years he was with me? he was my world. He was there when I met my future husband, there when I was married, there for the birth of my kids, he was so much more than a pet.

But, little did I know what was in store for me. The winter before we lost him, we found a tiny scrap of a starving kitten in the bottom of our empty trashcan one night. Being the softhearted pushover I am for anything tiny and in trouble, he got adopted. Much to my surprise, grumpy old man Tigger actually took a shine to this ragtag little ball of fur. Sassy, as we called him, became Tigger's shadow. When Tigger ate, Sassy ate. When Tigger got a drink, Sassy got a drink. When Tigger went to the litterbox, so did Sassy. When Tigger slept, Sassy slept in his arms. I'd never seen anything like it. Especially considering Sassy was a boy as well.

Sassy was right by Tigger's side when he started to fade. And the day Tigger went to the vet and didn't come home, Sassy looked for him for hours. He stopped eating, he just moped around the house like a lost soul. I actually became so wrapped up in easing Sassy's grief, my own was easier to manage. We got through it together, but it was hard on us both. But having Sassy around kept the door open to the cat part of my heart, and now I share my life with 7 new cats.

Fortunately, Tigger isn't here, because he was a one cat ruler, and these trespassers would never have been tolerated.

Gale