Obituary of Silver Michaelian
Silver was discarded from a non-moving car as a kitten on Christmas Eve 2004 at Darryl’s mom’s holiday celebration when the temperatures were below freezing. Darryl went outside to get a drink and found her under a car trying to keep warm. He scooped her up, took her in, called me downstairs and said he had a surprise. I went downstairs where there was a tiny kitten in the laundry room. I couldn’t believe a kitten had survived outside in the cold. Little did we know that evening one of his relatives took her to the celebration and left her outside of his car in the driveway because his cat had kittens and he didn’t want her. Fortunately, Darryl found her shortly after she had been discarded.
Silver was found on Christmas Eve and passed away 19 years later the day after Christmas.
When Silver was adopted, she wasn’t initially going to be ours. She was going to live with and be fostered by Darryl’s mom until I could find a rescue for her. She was named Kitty by Darryl’s mom. Well, that didn’t work out for very long. Each day there would be a phone call - “Kitty jumped in the refrigerator” or “Kitty clawed the sofa” “Kitty climbed the curtains” or “Kitty kept me up all night playing.” After a week of my daily dose of Kitty complaints, I told Darryl to bring her home and we will foster her. Despite her crazy kitten ways, we adopted her and renamed her Silver.
She came to live with us and our two cats Cotton & Puffy and our two dogs Marble & Fudge. When she first arrived, Cotton was old and frail. She would pester him nonstop. I’m sure the whole neighborhood knew we had a cat named Silver. I think she thought her name was Silver, leave Cotton alone!!!
Silver wasn’t your typical cat. She was more like a dog. She would sit with all the dogs lined up begging for treats. She would go for a ride in the car just like a dog. She loved hanging out on the deck during the warm months. She would just stretch out and go to sleep for hours. She never bonded with any of the cats or the dogs. She preferred humans. Resident humans were her favorite, but she loved anyone who would visit if you were a human.
She loved sitting on your lap and getting into everything. As she aged the only thing she wanted remained the same, human companionship. She loved being pet and on occasion would watch TV. She would follow you around like a dog, drink from the dog water bowl and want to be part of the action all the time.
Even at the vet's office she wouldn’t be scared. She would give attitude if she didn’t like what you did to her, but she wasn’t scared. She would cruise around the exam room sniffing and exploring everything. Her doctor’s office used to give her treats and her favorite squeeze tubes to keep her happy.
Despite her long life the time we had with her wasn’t enough. Her health started to decline but she was still herself even on the very last day. We were fortunate enough to have one last Christmas with her. We both will remain thankful that her aunt tended to her every need all Christmas day long. Christmas wasn’t a good one for Silver, health wise, but I know she loved being with everyone ALL day long. She was in her bed like a queen, sat amongst all the guests, brushed, doted on and hand fed her favorite temptation squeeze treats. If she could have had one final wish, I think that the constant care and attention she received all Christmas day would have been it.
We will miss her mischievous ways and feel a huge void that we didn’t know she filled for 19 years. Our lives will never be the same without her by our side. Even though she was not fond of any other dogs or cats she lived with we still hope that she’s now reunited with Magic, Panda, Violet, Jewel, Marble, Fudge, Cotton and Puffy. She outlived all of them.
We love and will miss you more than you know Silver. There will never be another you.
