Today on the 16th of November in the year 2024, we regret to announce the passing of Dame Elizabeth "DittaBear" the First. She passed away peacefully in her sleep this morning, shocking everyone with the event but avoiding all the fanfare one typically associates with death. She wouldn't have wanted it, and we would've heaped it on her.
Born the Summer of 2005, outside, she was the fluffiest of her litter and let the entire neighborhood know it, her pencil tail in the air for all to see. We quickly won her allegiance as the life of an alley cat wasn't to her liking, but that of milk and heating pads. Her brother and sisters found homes and we found our baby.
Her life was not without its ups and downs! She was a shoulder kitty who somehow found her way to the roof on many occasions, resulting in a whole matter of rescue attempts that pleased her majesty but gave her loved ones early grey hairs. She also went missing for 5 days in 2008 resulting in forlorn walks around the nearby neighborhood, calling her name.
She always came back home though, loyalty and love being her founding virtues, she built a foundation for enjoying the simple things, boxes and crates, purring at the smallest touch, only meowing when she especially wanted to be heard, and has us still, wrapped around her little fingers.
It is a triumph of life, at nearly 20 years of age, and although I'm sad that she left us (early in my opinion, I would have taken a few more decades.) My family and I am so grateful to have had her for all the time she allowed.

05/24/2005 – 11/16/2024

Xortia Ross
Reno, NV