We met purely by chance one August day in 1985. She was just hanging out on a street corner as I walked by. She meowed and I stopped to pet her. I walked on but turned to hear a persistent meowing. I was being followed!

After a another block or two, she was still there. Fearing for someone's soon to be lost kitty, I inquired at the house where I'd first encountered her. "No," said the woman at the door, "she isn't ours. But she has been following my son to the elementary school and she hangs around here and eats our cat's food."

I started back on my way, and the same loud "meow" dogged (catted?) my every step. After many blocks, it was time to cross a busy street. Fearing for her safety, I picked up the stray and carried her across. She followed me the rest of the way back to my friend Linda's house. Linda already had two cats, but kept the little stray for a night. She ate everything we put in front of her.

The next day, I said that I would take her home, "just for a day or so" to see how it might work out. I had never had a pet and wasn't overly partial to cats. Fearing that she would rip up the furniture, I kept her in the garage while I was at work. That lasted for several days. She yelled loudly whenever I would come home and leapt into the house. Her garage days were quickly over.

A visit to the vet confirmed that she was at most six months old. We were together for almost 18 years.

It took several weeks to come up with a name. One morning, the DJ on the radio started talking about his cat. He said that her name was Abigail. It struck me that it was the perfect name for this creature who had quickly won my heart. And so "Abigail" she became. Her official medical & prescription records list her as "Abigail Cat Bissell" but I don't think she was ever hung up on having three names.

Somewhere along the way, she turned from a playful kitten with a loud purr who would jump on everyone who came into the house into a shy kitty. Many people came by and never saw her. When Jane came into my life, Abigail quickly accepted her and we all had ten great years together.

For four months in 1988, she and I both went on assignment and shared an apartment in Lowell, MA. She liked to climb on the railing that ran around the balcony of the apartment. Since we were on the third floor, she used to scare me half to death.

Three years ago she took sick and the diagnosis was chronic renal failure (CRF). Her kidneys were already very tiny on the sonogram and we had no idea how long she'd last. We started giving her IV fluids several times a week and things stabilzed. Starting in 2002, she got sick more often, and we started giving her more fluids more frequently plus Pepcid to calm her stomach and potassium to replace what was being lost.

The illnesses got closer together and each time we'd think that she wasn't going to make it. But we kept up the treatments and even resorted to force-feeding her to get her eating again. And each time she bounced back, though more slowly and a bit thinner. This year (2003) she was already on her fourth illness by May. Each time it was harder to get her going again and she'd lose more weight. She dehydrated faster than we could keep fluids in her. It finally became time to let her go. Abigail was put to sleep on May 13, 2003.

I'm certain that everyone thinks that their pet is the best, the smartest, the prettiest. Abigail was all of that, from her green eyes to her beautiful markings. We'll miss her on our laps being brushed while we watch TV, standing at the door wanting to go outside for just a few minutes in the morning, and waking us up by walking on us until we petted her. She would generally come to the bedroom any time that she heard the shower running. It was her cue to sit on my lap and get petted. After a few minutes, she'd contentedly roll over and have me rub her tummy. Our lives are so much the better for having had her. We'll always love & miss her.

A special thanks goes out to our vets at 4 Paws @ 4 Points who gave us medicines and support long after we decided that taking Abigail to their office was too stressful for her. Another special thanks to Bill Shields for giving such good advice on caring for a CRF cat. Bill has been through this several times and his experience and insights were always appreciated.