Otis finally left us at the age of 16. Apparently in her last two weeks she would go and visit some people around the corner who had two huge dogs and several cats. They told us that she would walk up to the animals’ bowls and help herself to their food, then lie down in the garden, and their dogs and cats would all lie down around her. On the last day they found her in her final sleep, in the same situation.

In some of the later photos here, her physical deterioration is evident, but she was still really big on the inside…

Otis, I noticed,

Had beautiful eyes

She started out smart

And she got very wise

She loved being a cat

And was always alert

What went on in the garden –

She had all the dirt

She wanted to know

Everything that went down

She studied quite hard

But could still be a clown

Though Otis, I noticed,

Had dignity too

And had enough buddies

To make up a zoo

I’m glad to have known her

She was a great friend

We loved her and felt

She loved us ’till the end

We made her a monument

Out by the tree

Where Otis, I’d noticed,

Would sit and just be

I miss her, but feel

That this isn’t the end

And I think in the next round

We’ll meet up again.

Namaste, little one. xxx