Elijah with Chippy Now

Last Friday in bed, I received the sad news about the passing of Elijah from his mother Gail. It turns out that in the first week of our Shelter in Place, Elijah took a turn for the worse. After having been given a shot by the vet, he went to sleep while Gail was holding him in the car.

Elijah was a brother of Chippy's from the same litter. One day in May, 18 years ago, they were waiting together to be adopted on the staircase of  the Santa Cruz Main Post Office. My manager at the time, Dody, picked up Elijah for Gail, while I got Chippy. Two cats were so happy waiting for the end of our work day in our Cataloging Department office. Chippy was grooming constantly whereas Elijah was just meowing joyfully. I will never forget the time when he was so distraught to find his sister gone. Paul had come by earlier and took her home in a wooden breadbox I had just bought.

In the ensuing years, Dody, Gail, and I tried a couple of times to give them a reunion through their birthday parties, but Elijah was too shy to feel comfortable among strangers. Now, Elijah and Chippy are together again in a span of less than three months. They are truly special cats, giving our two families full and undivided attention and affection. In the 18 years they were with us, they shared our happy and difficult times. I feel somewhat comforted that Gail was with Elijah to the very end. It is my greatest regret that I was not with Chippy when she passed. I was trying to get a few hours' sleep for work on the morning of the last day of 2019.

As my niece said in her card to us, "We are sorry that Mrs. Chippy is no longer with us. She will be dearly missed," and so will Elijah. They lived apart, but are united now, with their Grandmother Jindi to look after them both.