DAKTARI

Well it is an end of an era. Our beloved and long lived 18 year old cat has passed. Daktari was a little orange cat covered with fleas when we first brought him home. We gave him several baths just trying to get rid of all of them. He was so cute and tiny. We got him a week after Jared and I moved in with each other in 1996. He was my first picture subject and boy did I capture him doing everything. He quickly grew to a teenage cat that used to attack our ankles as we went into the shower. He would leave long scratches all up our arm while he used it like a climbing tree.

He helped us welcome three other cats (Simba, Aker and Lander) and our dog Max to the family. Not saying he welcomed them all with open paws, sometimes he would just stand out in the rain and look into the house from the window with a mad mean face. But he quickly got over it and ended up being the cat that would always give gentle face cleanings to the other cats.

He lived in three houses with us and out lived all the animals. He was a strong lion. He will always be missed and always bring a warm smile to my soul. The first picture is on his last day but not the last day that he brings joy to my heart. The beautiful sunshine shots on my lap on the porch is where we would snuggle in the last few months. He loved the sunshine. The standing shot was one of the pictures where I really noticed how tiny is body was getting. He used to be 12 pounds and was down to 6 pounds. The last pictures were after a bath and Rocco helped dry him off with a warm towel and warm snuggles.

Thanks for being a wonderful cat Daktari. We are blessed to have you in our family.