Once upon a time, I was 20 and it was a hot summer day. I went over to visit my friend Lisa, from school, since we hadn't seen each other while she had been at university in Boston and I in Eugene, Oregon (where we lived). I arrived early and saw a sign across the street from her house advertising free "half-Siamese" kittens. I had to know what a "half-Siamese" kitten looked like. That was the day I met and fell in love with Sasha. The place I was living didn't allow pets, so I asked the woman, Moira, who owned the kittens to keep her for me while I moved. And then I went back and brought her home in a red backpack, turned round to the front like a baby carrier, while I cycled slowly on that 90F day. Sasha poked her head out to see what was going on, then promptly curled up and fell asleep. We later moved to Juneau, Alaska, and then (after a spell in quarantine for her) to Cambridgeshire, England. Then on to Manchester and later Portsmouth. Finally we arrived in Dundee, 9 years ago. So out of 13 glorious years, Sasha lived most of her life in Scotland. I am sure that I owned the funniest, most loving, most talkative Siamese cat on the planet! I loved her with all my heart, and Sasha loved me back. So, when she began having breathing troubles today.. that didn't subside after a diuretic injection at 4pm... When she looked up at me, with what remained of her vision, and meowed plaintively, I knew she was telling me that she had had enough. I always promised her, that when she had had enough, when she told me she was ready, I would be with her, and let her go. So we rang the emergency vet, and he was very good with her. She was actually away after the initial sedation shot. Her little heart just gave out. And I was there, holding her paw and cuddling her, my Sashenka. 25th June 1993 to 4th October 2006. Rest in peace my love.
-- Jo in Scotland