Morgan the perfect cat, 2012 – 2026, in memoriam

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Morgan was an unplanned addition to our family. I took a towel donation to our local shelter and peeped into the cat room. A tech was cleaning out the cage of what I thought was an old one-eyed cat. This was not a no-kill shelter. My heart went out and I wept all the way home. The next day the beloved husband and I went over to scoop her up. She wasn’t old at all. She was between 9 months and a year. She had just had her eye removed because of a rupture, but she didn’t know she only had one eye. In her entire life, she didn’t know her eyesight was compromised. She was lower on the adoptable list because most people want perfect cats, so she came home with us. To us she was perfect.

She was so small. Mollie was 6 pounds and she was smaller.

She came to a group of three older cats — Jake, a cantankerous elder; Mollie, the gentle alpha; and Hazel, a semi-feral who never did trust humans. She adapted well. She paid homage to Jake and snuggled up to the other two.

My gray bookends — We adopted Gracie because she had one eye too. Gracie on left, Morgan on right. You can see the size difference although they were both adults and close in age. Gracie at 8 lbs and Morgan at 12.

That’s not to say she lost her youth. She broke vases because of her need to sleep on high spots like the fireplace mantel and tops of tall furniture; rearranged centerpieces because there was no centerpiece as wonderful as her; and she was often full of cobwebs from I don’t know where.

Every centerpiece needs a gray cat!

Morgan napping on the fireplace mantel. What could go wrong here?

What made her perfect was that she didn’t scream for food (and ate anything you gave her); didn’t wake us up in the early morning; or eliminate inappropriately. She didn’t fear trips to the vet. She thought of it as an opportunity to charm more people. She was easy.

Morgan: I’m ready! Take me!

Morgan broke her leg in 2021. Here she is with her splint. She had to get it rewrapped every week for eleven weeks. She enjoyed the attention and the vet techs loved her.

She made us smile with her antics and brought youth and energy into the house. She also accepted other cats as they joined us and helped us mourn as pets left. There were many times when I cried into her fur while she purred.

Morgan listening to the beloved husband playing guitar.

There wasn’t a cat bed she didn’t like. We have 87 million all around the house just for her. The other cats use them too, but Morgan was always in one. I don’t ever remember her sleeping under the bed. She accepted smooches on her forehead as a price to pay for a good gig. In fact, she liked them.

I will miss her happy dance at dinnertime; her need to escort me to the bathroom. (I was not to be trusted alone); and her scrunched up nose when she smelled something she didn’t like. She was a happy cat. I couldn’t have asked for more except for a longer life.

Public Service Announcement: She wasn’t adopted because she was young or beautiful (she was both) but because she was considered less adoptable. When you adopt, do not pass by the less than perfect animals or the ones that cower frightened in the corner or the older ones. The shelter is a tough place. They bloom in homes filled with love. Give them a chance.

To capture the essence of Morgan, I’m going to repost some blogs from her early years here over the next few weeks. I laughed when I reread them and hope you will too.

 

83 thoughts on “Morgan the perfect cat, 2012 – 2026, in memoriam”

  5. I haven’t been blog active lately, but I saw this in my email notifications today and wanted to come honor your sweet Morgan. I enjoyed reading about how she came to live with you and her perfect-cat personality. The words brought me to tears, and I miss her with you. Thank you for taking in a less-adoptable kitty and giving her such wonderful digs. Like the other comments, I’m sending hugs, too.

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  7. What a delight she was! I’m looking forward to those repeat posts, they will be new to me.

    I totally agree about not passing up the “not so adoptable” cats. At the shelter where I volunteer, we see it all the time. Those are the ones that seem to bloom best, they are so happy to be out of the shelter environment and in a home, it just does them so much good, and the people, too.

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    • Morgan was young but I haven’t had a kitten in decades. Most of my other cats were either rescues off the street, older mom cats and Hazel who was rescued at around 6 months but never warmed up to people. She did great here with the other cats. She didn’t run from me but she didn’t like to be cozy either. I also recommend people adopt 2 or at least have another cat, as they aren’t as solitary as people think.

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  10. While sadly I didn’t really know your kitties, let alone Morgan, I will look forward to reading the flashback posts. Those are always good memories, mostly. I sometimes look back over some of my older posts when we had 2 ‘meezers’ and a dog…the originators of our blog…time does keep moving on.

    Hugs to you and thank you for this wonderful tribute!

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  12. What a beautiful tribute to your baby. ❤ I tend to be drawn to the “less adoptable” babies. They are all perfect, and they all deserve so much love. Thank you for adopting Morgan and giving her so much love!

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  13. What a sweetie Morgan was and you did a tribute that was perfect. I like what you said about adopting an imperfect pet. Here we have an animal rescue organization that takes all animals – it is called DAWG. I follow them on Facebook. It is a big farm. The other day they took in a French Bulldog that is blind and deaf and had mange so bad it had no fur at all, just pink skin. They named her Lorelei. They were interacting with her and she was interacting with the other dogs like she had no issues stopping her from just being a dog.

    I was watching a video the other day about a shelter where the people are vetted before they can take home the shelter pets – that’s probably standard, right? But, in this case the “hopeful humans” were all lined up, sitting in a big room and each dog came into the room by itself and was allowed to find its human/potential owner. I had tears in my eyes as each dog went right to their new owner, picking them out of the crowd of hopefuls. I had to wonder if they had a prior meet-and-greet. I know it wasn’t AI, like so many of these animal videos are anymore. In each case the dogs were ecstatic, licking the new owner’s face.

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      • Yes, it made me smile too. I didn’t know shelters did this and the new owners hugging their new pets was such a beautiful scene to see. If I see it again, I’ll pass it along. I am on Instagram, but never post anything. I joined when a young man named Oliver got a health diagnosis that made him quit his job, then he bought a sailboat and he and his rescue cat Phoenix are sailing around the world. The site is “Sailing With Phoenix”. I have found some interesting history sites (I am not a history buff, but they are fun sites to see and learn) but mostly I follow a lot of great animal sites, people taking care of orphaned wildlife or some wildlife photographers. I think I likely saw it there.

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  23. I am glad you gave her a chance and a fabulous life. Boss Cat apparently hissed at everyone when she was in a cage, which was why it took years for her to be found by people who were willing to drive and visit her in her foster home. But out of the cage? Amazing. No fear. Hides from nothing. Attacks dogs. Steals your food. Tries to escape and beats up coyotes.

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    • That sounds like Sasha except she doesn’t like strangers. She would hide behind a washing machine at the rescue whenever prospective adopters came to see her. We just loaded her up in a carrier and took her home. No meet and greet. We had Morgan and Mollie and they helped her adjust. Except for her missing eye, I expect Morgan would have been adopted easily. She was very friendly.

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  25. Thank you for taking Morgan in. I do not understand why humans need to have the “perfect” pet when who among us are perfect? She was blessed that you both have big hearts. I know you will miss her, and I feel your pain as I lost my 22 year old Cookie Cat a few months ago. Condolences Cindy Cat

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  33. A perfect remembrance for Morgan the Perfect Cat🩶 Lovely words. I am so happy you went back for her and that she was given a forever home and that she was loved and respected to the very end. Thank you for the photos and thank you for sharing some reposts over the next weeks. Morgan you are missed… you were loved by so many.

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  35. What a sweet life she had and in turn gave to you…..Some things were meant to be. I know she could not have had a happier life that’s for sure. I just love that you saw her at the shelter and KNEW she was your cat and I bet she felt the same that day and waited patiently for you to come back and take her home! She just knew. I’ve so enjoyed getting to know you and all your cats but Morgan had a special spot in my heart too because you made her personality shine – we knew her so very well. I’ll look forward to the old blogs you’re going to share……some moments were MEANT for repeating. Sending you a hug…..or two.

    Love, Pam

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