In Memory of Cinco 3/31/2005 – 12/9/2023
Despite our Cinco’s sweet and affectionate nature, she didn’t have the easiest start in life. In 2016, she was taken into the care of a Dallas-based rescue after a cruelty seizure. She was adopted and lived with a family for several years, but was returned due to their other cat’s aggression issues in 2022. It seemed unlikely that she would be adopted again in her golden years due to her new leukemia positive status, so this lucky girl found herself at our doorstep! Though, I think everyone knows and agrees that we ended up being the lucky ones.
It may surprise some of you, but she was actually pretty spicy when she first settled in at Shadow Cats. Our polydactyl girl was known to utilize her extra claw to menace the other cats in Cookie’s Place. The staff would often lovingly tease that Cinco “The Claw” had to be fed promptly…or else! She was later affectionately dubbed “lobster claw” and even earned the name “old lady baby” because despite being a senior girl, she looked like a kitten.
She was eventually moved to Cookie’s Annex, where she retired her claw sharpener and exchanged her sass in favor of a more regal and relaxed lifestyle. Loving hands seemed to gravitate towards her, eager to spoil her with pets, and not at all minding the amount of drool she’d lovingly unleash upon them in return. None of that mattered with such a sweet cat in your hand, so small, and having lived through such hardship, but so ready to love and be loved.
During our 2023 Christmas Open House, Cinco was a fan favorite in Cookie’s Annex. She perched herself up on one of the tiered cat trees (strategically, I think) and instituted the Cinco Tax. Any tour-goer that walked through felt compelled to give our sweet girl all the love and pets…she didn’t make the rules, it was just so! She was the star of the day, and everyone seemed mesmerized by her silly fanged smile, her sweet eyes, and the powerful purr that never seemed to stop even for a moment.
Cinco was so sweet, loving, and without complaint that you’d never know just how many medical issues she struggled with—kidney disease, a heart condition, leukemia. Though, it amazes me they were ever able to diagnose her with a heart condition given that she never stops purring long enough for you to listen to her heart! What a loud and proud purr she had. She was just happy to be loved, and even towards the end, when we learned she had developed a fatal laryngeal mass, she never stopped the outpouring of her affections.
Cinco was the kind of cat that proved how powerful and how healing the human-animal bond can be. Everything she did let you know that she loved you just as much as you loved her. She just made you feel warm, no matter the stress or hardship you may have suffered before stepping through Annex’s door. You couldn’t leave her without a smile, even if she did leave a bunch of slobber all over your petting hand!
She left us peacefully, surrounded by the same love she so selflessly left us with, just as she deserves. We will miss our special girl, and her special polydactyl high fives, but she has lived a long life despite all of the odds stacked against her. She’s touched each of us in her own way, and she’s left our lives feeling that much richer just having known her. Thank you, Cinco, for all you’ve given us. Thank you to the staff that cared for her daily, the volunteers and all-around fans who loved her, and to her sponsors Christina and Mary Ellen who helped us give her the best care possible.
Our hearts are heavy, our eyes teary…but how lucky were we to have known Cinco?
Cinco had 2 Sponsors
Christina Zimmer
Mary Ellen Taylor