Xana-Roo Middleton

Our beloved cat Xana-Roo was put to sleep yesterday afternoon after a period of slowly declining health which sped up in the past few days. The vet diagnosed severe kidney failure and gave her only a few days to live. She went quietly with Lynn petting her and Lynn has written the following to honor this wise and loving cat that has been with us since the beginning:

A couple of weeks after Dave and I got together, he told me that he was thinking of adopting a cat named Xana that belonged to a friend of a friend of his. When we arrived at the house, we sat down on the floor while they went to go find the cat. Xana ran right to us. I remember the woman being surprised by this since apparently Xana wasn't terribly sociable. We brought her back to the apartment that night where she quickly became our mascot.

I had some preconceived notions about cats. That they had no personality, no character, and were somewhat generic as far as pets were concerned. Maybe it is true of some cats, but not our Xana. In many ways she was more like a dog. She loved to play. She loved to be around us. So much so, that she would often leap onto your back when you least expected it so that she could perch up on your shoulder. It was a lot more charming than it sounds. She'd sleep right next our heads at night...purring us peacefully off to sleep.

She shared with me an enthusiasm for treats. I loved giving them to her. When I brought a bag of them out from the closet, she would gleefully find a place on a table where the dogs couldn't steal them from her. I regret that I didn't give her more treats. What a simple thing that makes life a little nicer.

She was even a hero. When an unsavory individual attempted to steal Dave's Honda Aero right out from our yard, she meowed and meowed at the door until Dave realized what was happening.

She was a pretty little grey cat. Her mouth bowed out on each side cheerfully. She never looked aloof, stupid or vacant. The flash of the camera usually caught her looking kind of irritated but really, she was quite a lovely girl.

She was my little office cat. Most of her later days she spent sitting right in front of me on my desk as I worked. Often, she would chase the cursor on the computer screen which always amused me. My office is so much more cold now that she is gone.

There are many other memories of her that Dave and I will keep. The kind of memories that would be spoiled if you tried to explain them to someone else.

Of course, there were not always good times with Xana..but those times really seem so insignificant now. I miss her so much. She always did and always will remind me of the excitement and romance of living in the city and falling in love with Dave.

My sweet little Xana, I thought we would have more time.