Ashes

In summer 2011, a beautiful but undernourished and messy Russian Blue kitten happened upon us out of nowhere one sunny afternoon in the back of our old home, just outside the city limits of Springfield, Ohio. He softly meowed at us while looking upward, with desperate eyes. We quickly surmised that he was hungry and lost and wanted a home. So, without much thought at all, we decided to adopt this little guy and make him part of our family. We named him "Ashes" because of his thick gray coat - the furriest cat I've ever petted! But I had nicknames for him too - I called him "Boo-boo" or my "Fuzzy Furball." For many years we enjoyed his company and believe he enjoyed ours as well. As a male cat, he turned out to be a great companion. He would do all the funny things these creatures tend to do, like following us into the bathroom almost invariably, sleeping at the foot of the bed (or right next to us!), greeting us with his paws in the morning whether to wake us or tell us it was time to "get moving!" But he could also be inadvertently mischievous at times. Indeed, we'll never forget the time he found a pan of oil in the old barn behind the house and then later left a trail of paw prints throughout the kitchen before we could get him cleaned up. We came to love this pet and would dote on him. We'd buy him certain toys but he seemed most content with simple playthings, such as toilet paper, a string on a stick, and probably his favorite - empty boxes. After selling the old house mentioned above, we moved to Alabama in 2020 with our other 2 cats as well. The new house had a fenced backyard area so Ashes - definitely an indoor cat - could safely go outside pretty much whenever he wanted. Sadly, we lost our beloved Ashes in a terrible accident on the night of December 19th, 2025, after he'd managed to find his way outside the front of the house - he'd been struck by a vehicle. He was nearly 15 years old. A week later as I wrote this, the heartache caused by the loss of this precious animal still lingers. Like any parent who loses a child, the pain of losing our Ashes will likely never go away. But neither will our love for him ... wherever he is now, we know he's still loving us, just as we still love him in our hearts. Forever. Our Beloved Ashes: 2011 - 2025.

Ashes

December 19, 2025