Jenny Ann and her brother Malcolm were adopted in October of 1990 as 6 week old kittens. I got them from North Shore Animal League in Port Washington, NY. They were my first pets as an adult. Jenny and Malcolm would sleep with me every night. One morning I woke up and found Malcolm in his usual spot on my bed, but Jenny was missing. I looked all over the apartment and then saw that the screen in the kitchen was open. I searched all around the building for quite a while. I finally found her in a window well in the electric meter cage. She would usually run from me, but this time let me pick her up and take her inside. After that all screens were taped so that they couldn't be pushed out.

Jenny Ann used to be a big fat cat with the tiny head syndrome. She hated to be picked up but has always been very affectionate. One day I looked at her and noticed she was getting thinner. At first I thought that was a good thing, but decided to take her to the vet. She had a slightly elevated kidney function, but the vet saw no cause for alarm. Her weight at that time was around 10-11 pounds down from probably 15-16 pounds. That was October of 1994. He didn't request a follow-up. I have since changed vets. I noticed that she was getting even thinner than she was and when I weighed her she was down to 9 pounds. In February of 1996 the new vet diagnosed her with renal failure. Since then she has been receiving Sub-Q fluids to keep her alive. She maintains her weight between 8 1/2 and 9 pounds and has been fairly stable with her blood levels.

Jenny Ann is the smartest cat in this household. She will hide as soon as she knows it's getting close to her fluid time and if she sees me with a pill she's off like a shot. She loves me very much and sleeps with (or on) me every night.

Jenny Ann has been in 3 cat shows, but since she really didn't like it I didn't push her. Her favorite thing to do when she was being judged was to hide under the judges arm.

Today (June 3, 1998) Jenny Ann lost her battle with Chronic Renal Failure. A week ago she started to bleed from her gums. Her vet decided she needed an IV flush to help her out. It appeared to be working, but the fluid ended up in her lungs. She had a heart condition in addition to her kidney problems. She became very weak and waited until I arrived to say goodbye. She was a fighter right up to the very end. She is at peace now. She will be missed.