"Linda"
(1994-2010)
Linda was put to sleep on February 15, 2010, she was 15-1/2 years old

May 2002 - at age 7

Back in December 1994 my friend, Linda McReyonlds, got married and moved out of state. Before she moved away, Linda wanted me to get my cat, "Tiger", a female feline friend and to name her "Linda". I had had Tiger for about a year at that point. I picked out "Linda" at the Oak Cliff animal shelter on December 31, 1994. They spayed her and released her to me on January 4, 1995. "Linda" was approximately 5 months old when I got her. She was a very striking kitty - with the most beautiful markings I had ever seen on a cat. When she walked her tail was bend forward, almost dangling above her head. And the very tip of the tail was broken, so it had an endearing downward crook at the end.

Linda and Tiger hit it off right away. They were buddies for 14 years, and for the first 10 years they were the only kitties I had - so they became very close. The two of them played together and groomed each other all the time. It was heartwarming to watch. Linda was a vocal kitty who would let me know when she needed a little loving. She so enjoyed me petting her. If I gave her moist cat food (instead of her normal dry) she'd gobble it up and then get on a cat house or a bed and cry until I came in there to love on her. I think it was her way of "thanking" me for the treat. She nearly always said "goodbye" to me at my front door as I left for work - I just had to say that "I'm going to work" and Linda would meet me at the door knowing she was going to get petted. She slept on the bed with me, near my right shoulder. Always near my right shoulder. Linda, like many kitties, didn't care much for strangers and would hide under a bed when guests were over. If I'm in the house, she would let my friend Nancy pet her - but other than that I was her only human contact.

Linda was eventually diagnosed with chronic renal failure, anemia and high blood pressure - but you would never had known it. She seemed just as affectionate & bright-eyed and just as into our routines as ever. But she was losing weight. And as I tried to find foods that were better for her renal failure, her appetite suddenly plummeted. My vet discovered large amounts of fluid in Linda's chest and abdomen. The chest fluid was compressing Linda's lungs, making it harder to breath. And that induced lethargy and anorexia. After many tests, the experts (including veterinarians and radiologists) determined that Linda had lymphoma. The vets had to clear the fluid from her lungs using a needle three times during her last two weeks. I slept with her on a pallet on the floor as she weakened. I put her down on February 15, 2010. I'm grateful that she was a very healthy cat until just the last two weeks of her life, but I sure miss that special little gal. It's hard to believe that my first two cats, Tiger and Linda, are now gone. As my friend Nancy always said of them - they truly were story book cats.

Below are some pictures of Linda, followed by several short video clips.


January 1995 - age 5 months

When I first brought Linda home, I kept her in the guest bedroom for two days with a screen door separating her from the hallway. The theory was that Tiger and Linda would slowly get to know one another through the screen door and that by the second day their curiosity about each other would be elevated - which would increase the odds that they would become friends. It worked! Just a couple of days after I opened the screen door, Tiger was grooming on Linda. Of course, it turned out that Tiger was the key to the success of their relationship more than I was. Female kitties fell in love with him at first sight. Tiger and Linda would be close friends until Tiger passed away fourteen years later. Notice how Linda's tail was bend forward and how it had a broken tip on the end. It was like that her entire life - I found it endearing and adorable.


Not long after I got "Linda", my friend Linda came in town for a vist. She got to hang out with me and Tiger and the new kitty that was named after her.


June 1995 - Tiger age 5, Linda age 10 months

Tiger (orange tabby) and Linda (gray tabby) were lifelong friends.


Sept. 2002 - age 8


June 2003 - age 8

When I first got Linda, she was not very afraid of people - she'd even get in a stranger's lap. But over the years she became very scared of strangers. Perhaps a few visits to the vet's office made her afraid of people. I quickly became the only person that wouldn't cause Linda to hide under my bed. But my friend Nancy started slowly winning Linda over and we were pleasantly surprised when Linda finally got up the nerve to get in Nancy's lap for this picture.


Feb. 2007 - Linda age 12, Tiger age 16


May 2007 - age 12

After my office cat, Sali, died in 2006 I brought Sali's tall carpeted cat tower to my house. Linda loved luxuriating on the top perch. About a month after this photo was taken I took in a stray kitten and named her Josie. Josie was a very playful kitten and would try to play with Linda anytime Linda climbed on Sali's old cat tower. So after I got Josie, Linda stopped getting on the top shelf - but she still got on some of the mid-level perches quite a bit. Especially when the morning sun shined on them through the nearby window.


December 2009 - age 15

Linda loved laying on my warm clothes after they had come out of the dryer. Because I couldn't resist petting her there, it probably took me twice as long to fold my clothes as it normally would have - but I sure didn't mind!


Windows Media Player Video Clips
If you don't have the latest version of the Windows Media Player you can get the free version by clicking here.

Tiger & Linda first see each other (Tiger 4, Linda 6 mos.) - January 1995
Tiger following Linda around house - January 1995
Tiger & Linda play fighting - January 1995
Tiger & Linda groom each other - January 1995
Tiger & Linda groom each other some more - January 1995
Tiger & Linda playing - January 1995
Linda playing with feather stick - January 1995
Brad in bed with Tiger & Linda (Brad age 28, Tiger 4, Linda 6 mos) - January 1995
Tiger & Linda in Cat Run for first time - February 1995
Linda with my nephew Zack - March 1995
Tiger & Linda on their bdays Part I (Tiger 5, Linda 1) - August 1995
Tiger & Linda on their bdays Part II - August 1995
Linda pulling down plastic tree Part I - August 1995
Linda pulling down plastic tree Part II - August 1995
Tiger & Linda playing in plastic tree (Tiger 5, Linda 1) - August 1995
Linda drinking from faucet (age 1) - September. 1995
Tiger & Linda playing on Halloween 1995
Tiger & Linda playing in cat enclosure - Oct. 1995
Tiger & Linda rough housing cat enclosure - Oct. 1995
Tiger & Linda play fighting (Tiger 5, Linda 1) - Oct. 1995
Linda in the Xmas tree - December 1995
Tiger & Linda grooming each other (Tiger 9, Linda 5) - December 1999
Linda in the kitchen & living room - December 1999
Tiger & Linda grooming each other - December 1999
Linda on Nancy's lap (Linda age 8) - June 2003
Tiger & Linda playing at carpeted house - August 2003
Linda on my bed (age 11) - April, 2006
Tiger & Linda playing (Tiger 16, Linda 12) - May 2007



Other Related Links On My Site:
My Cats' Home Page
The Catrun
The Large Cat Enclosure
Catwalks Inside My House


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