I still remember the day my wife, Julie, called me when she got home from work in September of 2008. She had come home to find a very sick cat on our deck. The poor thing was so ill she couldn't walk straight and could hardly stand up. She appeared to be a kitten only a few months old. We immediately thought she was probably a victim of the Cedar Rapids flood just a few months earlier.

We nursed her back to health with our veterinarian's help and put an ad in the paper trying to find her original owners. Our veterinarian believed that she was actually over a year old and that she was just that malnourished. Her birthday "officially" became April 1, 2007. No call ever came which was a good thing, because the beautiful girl had stolen our hearts. We named her Caylie.

Bob James
Bob James
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A few months ago she was diagnosed with cancer when tumors appeared on her belly. After much discussion, we made the difficult decision to help her live life to the fullest as long as possible.

At the end of last week, it became clear that it was time. Time to let her run again with her brother Codie (our first Shetland Sheepdog who died of a stroke in the middle of the night) and sister (Cassie, another wonderful cat that was also taken by cancer).

Saturday morning, we shed many tears at that vet's office. However, we know Caylie is purring again. Just knowing that is a great comfort because as any cat owner can attest, that's the most wonderful sound there is.

Caylie
Julie James
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