[comiskey]

When my wife and I were first dating I bought her a black and white Persian for her birthday. She named it, "Taba." Taba grew up with a Dachshund and they would chase each other up and down the stairs all day long. First, you'd see Seanie (the dog) chase Taba up the stairs. About ten or twenty seconds later, you'd see the dog come flying down the stairs like the devil was on its tail. It was Taba, of course. Anyway, with this kind of exercise that cat got very strong, and was extremely healthy. She lived to be twenty-two years of age. Sadly, towards the end, she lost more and more of her teeth and couldn't eat anything solid. One day, she got the runs badly. I took her to the vet and he said it was normal for a cat that age. He gave me a prescription which I filled but I had to force it down her. The next day I went out to my car and, as I was backing out of the driveway to go to work, Taba came out and stood in thr driveway, just watching me. I stopped and called to her, but she just looked at me. I'll never forget it. I left and that was the last I ever saw of her. I came home from work and my wife told me she was gone. She'd looked everywhere but she was no where to be found. We put up signs in the neighborhood and I must've walked twenty miles looking for her. She was just gone. My wife told me that when cats are going to die, they go off. I guess that's what she did...I loved that cat.