Our Love Was Gone...

Meowko Chen-Chang, ? ?, 1997- May 26, 2013

Dear family and friends, 

Thank you very much for your great support over the last several weeks. Meowko is now an angel. She crossed the rainbow bridge around 8:45pm US eastern daylight saving time on Sunday, May 26^th,  2013, at Pieper Memorial Veterinary Center in Middeltown, Connecticut, at the age of sixteen. Her passing was peaceful, but our lives would never be the same without her.

I can't stop thinking about the day I first met Meowko back in Taipei city, Taiwan. It was not me who adopted Mewoko; it was Meowko who adopted me. That was also a beautiful May day. She jumped into my window during dinnertime demanding the fish entree in my bento. From that day, she came every night, until one day she decided to stay and never left again. I didn't know anything of cats back to that time. I was actually very afraid of cats when I was little as in many Asian legends cats are evil. So I turned to one of my friend's friend who took care of street cats for years, asking tips about how to be a cat parent. This friend became my boyfriend, later my husband. He is Aspen.

Meowko traveled with us all the time, from Taiwan to the US seven years ago, and from Minnesota to Connecticut last year, not to mention those shorter trips over these years. She was good at taking airplanes, riding for week-long road trips, and had always been calm in front of anything. She was the perfect cat a geographer like me can ever dream for, and I always believe herself was a cat geographer as well. We have been saying that she probably taught geography in feline schools when her humans were in sleep.

We are going to attend Meowko's cremation on Wednesday, May 29^th around noon. If possible, please keep her in your thoughts during that time. We will bring her ashes back to Minnesota this summer, and some back to Taiwan later this year. She will always be in our hearts. She is survived by her two humans and her 7 years old littermate, Jaja, who also jumped into our window several years after Meowko did.

Although Meowko had been sick over recent years as she was getting old, she had very good quality of life until the day before she earned her angel wings. She was deeply loved by many people who knew her, from many places around the world. I hope I could have had a little more time with Meowko... I have already missed her so terribly. To honor her, we will also start a website project to share her stories of traveling and her medical experiences during her last several years in the hope to help other furry friends.

Thank you all again for the support, help and care we have got from you.    

Catherine, with Aspen and Jaja
May 27^th, 2013