In Memory of Annie 3/1/2009 – 1/13/2022
Annie came to the sanctuary in the fall of 2010. She was rescued from a hoarding situation and, being very skittish and not loving the company of people at all, was destined for a barn placement, but she got very sick and came to stay at the sanctuary to recover. Winter set in, and it seemed too harsh to release her into unfamiliar surroundings during the cold weather. By spring she was very settled into the sanctuary and seemed so shy and timid that we were concerned about her ability to get along on her own in a feral cat colony, so we decided to let her stay at the sanctuary. By then you know that we had all fallen in love with this fluffy girl.
Annie was so stunningly beautiful and she started to become a little bit more comfortable with people being around, but she was still very wary of anyone too close. Who knows what had happened to her to make her so fearful of humans. We would chat to her from afar and try to get her used to our presence. She would watch us intently from the highest perch. Over the months she began to recover from her ordeal and she blossomed into the most gorgeous girl. A safe environment filled with love had made all the difference. Still not wanting any contact with us, we always told her “when you are ready we will be ready, too.”
At Shadow Cats, she was able to live the life she deserves, on her own terms, and we cherished her, whether eventually in our lap or we’re just admiring her lustrous beauty from afar. And we’ve got lots of patience….but we always hoped that one day we’d get to find out if Annie is as soft as she looks.
We were never able to feel if she had soft fur; we were never able to have Annie in our laps, never able to give her scritches and kisses but we loved her deeply all the same. She always had a soft bed, lots of high shelves to ‘keep watch’, and kitties to cuddle with in cubbies that were away from our eyes. After moving to the new sanctuary she enjoyed the high shelves on the catios every day, her fearfulness had become less over time.
Annie was rushed to the hospital late this afternoon, and unexpectedly and suddenly we lost our gorgeous girl Annie to renal failure. She was held for the first time in her life, she was cradled in loving arms, she was kissed and given scritches as she passed ever so gently and peacefully.
We will miss you beautiful girl. Rest easy, Annie, you were deeply loved.
Annie had 4 Sponsors
“We’re sponsoring Annie and Sterling as our Christmas gifts to each other. Yo and I and our ten children (cats – Smokey, Midnight, Kiki, Thursday, Zoe and Rocky) – (dogs – Lil’ Bit, Mendy, Lady Bug and Toby) wish all our extended family at Shadow Cats a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!”
-Gary and Yolanda McAninch
“In memory of our Annie-Laurie, another splendid calico. Wishing you lots of good food and happiness, and hoping you’ll soon start to feel secure enough to accept a little attention, dear girl!”
-Jennifer Jackson
Leslie Leavitt
Evan Olsen