Now in the Land of Eternal Tummy Rubs and Rivers of Chicken Broth:

Squeak

Squeak was Darryl's first cat, living with him from March 1985 until her death from complications of diabetes the day after Christmas, 1999. Born September 1984, Snoopy (as she was known then) was given as a kitten by a child to his elderly great-grandparents as a Christmas gift in 1984. Unable to properly care for her, the great-grandparents utlimately resorted to locking Snoopy in a closet most of the time to minimize their need to deal with her. Once she went into her first heat, they decided she had become too much trouble for them and were going to rid themselves of Snoopy once and for all by throwing her into the river and claiming she ran away. Luckily, Darryl heard of this plan from a coworker who happened to rent the upstairs apartment of these people's house and instead offered to take Snoopy off their hands. Renamed after her meowing sounded very similar to a truck with squeaky brakes that passed Darryl's home one day, Squeak soon received proper medical care and spaying, and then settled into her new home and became a cherished companion for her many years. Her favorite food was chicken; ANYTHING chicken, especially chicken broth. Patsy's mother was the first person to feed her chicken broth, and instantly became Squeak's favorite person in the whole wide world afterward ...

Daisy

Daisy, also a spayed female, chose Patsy as her person. She came to us from the local cat rescue, and was believed to have been born around October 1998. She left us on May 11, 2009, after a battle with cancer of her small intestine, kidneys, and liver. She was named for her yellow-rimmed eyes and white coat, like the center and petals of a daisy (yeah, it was a stretch, but we liked the name). Her pastime was sleeping on a blanket-covered lap, usually Patsy's while she was reading in her favorite chair, and stretching out for a tummy rub from any human passing by. This picture was taken in our family room while Daisy was on the lookout for possible Bunny sneak-attacks ...

Bunny

Bunny, a spayed female who demanded her fair share of attention from both Patsy and Darryl, was seen here lounging in the sun on one of our patio chairs. She liked those fuzzy balls that had some crinkle foil in them, pieces of popcorn thrown for her to chase and devour, her tail pulled straight up until her rear legs came off the ground (really!), and almost anything that had tomato sauce on it. Born in April 1994, she joined us the next month, and earned her name from the Energizer Bunny, since as a kitten she just kept going and going and going. Her battery finally ran out due a stroke on November 14, 2012.

Ripley

Our boy Ripley was a neutered male, who associated with Patsy in the morning and Darryl at night, but in truth claimed everyone and everything as his own (and wasn't a bit shy about doing so). He was seen here posing for the camera shortly after joining our family in the summer of 2001. He came to us as a stray, hiding under our azalea bushes with his sister, who unfortunately had been badly injured by a car and had to be put down. After getting him fixed up (literally and figuratively) and suffering through a couple of months of isolation to make sure he was free from any nasty diseases, he made himself at home with us, or, as he seemed to see it, let us make ourselves at home with him. We didn't really know how old Ripley was, but we think he was born around April 2001 or so. We do know he left us on October 19, 2016, though, after complications from congestive heart failure.