Annabel was the result of the Universal Cat Distribution System. A friend had found her and her sibling kitten abandoned and alone. He brought them to me, because he knew how much I love cats. After a week of care, her sibling passed away after much fighting to try to get him to eat. I was extra determined, at that point, to make sure she lived. My dad and I tag-teamed bottle duties, and she not only survived, but she thrived.

I was given the pleasure of having her as my feline daughter for 13 years and 8 months. While I feel so lucky to have had that time with her, it’s never enough. She added so much joy and enrichment to my life. She was feisty and fierce. She was funny. She was also amazingly sweet. I can’t believe she’s gone.

She was named after the poem, “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe, and in the end, “A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling My beautiful Annabel Lee”. Her life was poetic, her love was poetic, and her death has to be poetic somehow too.

I love you, Annabel Lee. Stay with your sister, Voodoo Marie until I can get there to be with you.