Hello Friends, Since the loss on Nov 2, 2007 of our eldest (13 1/2 years old) feral lady, Miss Jean-Luc Kitte`, we have been emotional wrecks. My wife arrived home about 5:00 pm that night, and we went in to check on her. She was in respiratory distress from her thyroid condition, and she was waiting for one final good-bye to mom and dad. We stayed with her, and tried to make her as comfortable as possible. In her last attempt to be a "good girl" she tried to make a dash for the litterbox to "pee" but only made it as far as the bedspread. There she laid down on her side to get her final stroke'ums from Mary and I. She only had a few breaths left in her as we both gave her a kiss on the forehead and told this once-scrappy feral calico farewell for now. When she took that final gasp, there was no stopping the flood of tears from either of us. Cygan, our youngest rescued boy, came over to say his good-byes, and then he began to wail in sorrow with us. We have set aside our duties with Spots and Stripes (http://www.spotsandstripes.net) for the foreseeable future. Those cats still need to be fed and all we can do is beg for your help. One dollar each, more if you can afford it, will keep some 1,000 feral cats fed, watered and somewhat sheltered. The big cats should be okay, on reserves in their native countries, but we are glad to accept any donations directed to the tigers, leopards, cheetahs and others as well. Both of us grew up in Military families, and served our country as we were asked. I learned "real men" don't cry for their fallen brothers as they no longer suffer. So while I've had many opportunities with the many losses my wife and I have endured over the past decade, all bets are off with the loss of my grumpy little love muffin. I don't know when we'll be able to return to our duties, so we will rely on the friends we have, and the friends we hope to make to provide for those that need our combined help the most. Thank you all for above all, your patience.