We said goodbye to one of our beloved crew members last week, our most senior ship’s cat, Precious. She lived a long, loving life of 16 years and 3 months. A beautiful black cat with striking white markings, she would often cause passersby to stop to pet and admire her beautiful soft long fur. Most of all, Precious was a dear friend to us and was most content to just sit cozy in a lap or snuggled under the covers in bed and purr endlessly.
I brought her home to my college apartment when I was a 19-year old kid. She was a tiny 6-week old ball of soft black fur and so precious, I knew that was her name. We moved around a lot together as college kids do and after Michael and I had met and moved onto our first boat with her and our other new kitten Xena, she still took it all in stride. Precious took to the sea life right away, loving all the fresh air, sleeping in the sunshine and bird-watching. She didn’t mind sailing at all, just snuggled herself in our bed and slept contentedly until it was over. She sailed with us up to Alaska, then back to Seattle, then down to Mexico including the long car trip back up to Seattle.
She welcomed, with a little trepidation, the two little girls who came into our lives later and would purr when they’d gently scratch her between the ears. She was also happy back on the sea on her final home on Wondertime, sleeping the day away on our cozy double bunk and sitting on my lap in the evenings, purring purring.
We all miss Precious, but are thankful for the many adventures and tender moments our loving friend has shared with us.
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