Crackers died on Wednesday, February 5, 1997. He seemed fine in the morning. When the people came home, they noticed he was dead. He never showed any signs of being sick. Because he was a wild-caught parrot, we really have no idea how old he was. Daddy-people had him for about 18 years, though. He will be missed. Rest in peace, Crackers.

PC was a very special cat. Everyone who met him said so. Mommy-people used to be very allergic to cats. One day, she went home from college to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family. Her youngest sister had found PC outside, very cold and very hungry. Mommy's daddy said that they already had too many cats in their house and they were going to take PC to the animal shelter. Mommy-people couldn't stand that thought and even though she was allergic to cats, she took PC home with her.

PC was very sick at first. He had all kinds of nasty worms and some kind of respiratory infection. Mommy-people took him to the vet and made him all better. They grew to know and respect one another. Many years passed, and Mommy-people moved out here to California and brought PC with her. Then they got me. PC Cat taught me a lot about cats. He was as regal as they come. If he wanted to eat my dog food, I would let him, no matter what else was in my dish. Do you know how tough a 10lb cat has to be in order to make a 110 lb. dog move away from her food dish?

PC Cat became diabetic sometime in October of 1995. He lost weight very rapidly and slept even more than usual. Off he went to the vet. Dr. Perner said he was very sick but she did her best. He had to have shots 2 times a day, but he never complained. He had to go to the vet a lot and the people there all loved him. Shouts of "PC's here!" would bring all the staff to the front and they would argue who would get to care for him that day. Soon, PC was healthy again. All the TLC he got at the Carpinteria Veterinary Hospital surely helped.

Soon he was as active as he ever was, and would routinely tear a whole in the window screen so that he could go off on his cat adventures in the neighborhood. Daddy-people would always find him. One time, he found him by the swimming pool. He was just sitting there at the edge of the pool, contemplating his reflection.

One day, it was decided that PC wasn't looking right. His belly had gotten big and round. Off he went to the vet again. This time, the news was not so good. He was suffering from congestive heart failure. He was prescribed Lasix and it was hoped that the fluid in his belly would go down and ease the strain on his heart, but alas it was not to be.

On the night of July 2, 1997 PC's back legs wouldn't work. They rushed him to the Emergency Animal Clinic and it was determined he had a blood clot. He died even though the doctor did everything he could. We miss him greatly.