May 7th

My old cat Ophelia passed away yesterday. She was 16 years old and her mental health had been in decline for a few months. Yesterday her owner, Colter, was taking her to the vet and she died on the way there.
Black cats are hard to photograph p
In mid-March I went to visit Ophie at Colter’s place, as he was worried she wouldn’t be around much longer, so I was able to say goodbye.

I adopted Ophelia from the SPCA in Coquitlam in August of 1998. My then-boyfriend and I went together to pick out a kitten, and after looking at them all we were stuck trying to decide between a silver-tabby Persian and this tiny little speck of black fur. I put my hand in the black kitten’s cage and she curled up against it, started purring and almost immediately fell asleep and my decision was made. This little black cat was mine.
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Ophie lived with me mostly until 2006. I had to rehome her temporarily a few times but she always came back to me, which unfortunately wasn’t the best for her. She didn’t like being around kids or dogs or other cats so she spent all her time alone, hiding in Sym’s room. She was a very sweet and affectionate cat who loved being around people so I could tell she wasn’t happy. I also didn’t think boomeranging her from me to other people back to me was good, so I didn’t want to try and find her another home, but serendipitously, a new home found us.

A few years ago Ophie went to live with my hairstylist’s roommate Colter. He missed his old cat and wanted another, but not a kitten, an adult cat. As soon as I met him I knew he was the best owner for her, and I was right. With Colter Ophie thrived, she was so happy and that made me happy since I had been feeling guilty about rehoming her so many times. I’m so grateful that he was able to provide a wonderful, loving home for her to live out the last years of her life.

Ophie
Ophie & Me
Ophie
Ophie
These pictures are from the summer of 2011, Colter was in the hospital so Ophie stayed with us for a couple of months. I remember the day Colter was discharged he called and asked me to meet him behind the hospital (it’s near my house) so he could take Ophie home with him straight away because he’d missed her.

Goodbye, Ophie.

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