This is an incredible true story about two kitties who loved each other very much. Brennan Kingsland, who wrote about Irish and Precious on her blog, Shepherd’s Haven Sanctuary , has graciously given me permission to reprint it here…

Precious is the white cat on the left. She was the daughter of Mary, the very first cat we rescued when we moved to the rural South - before we realized how young female cats must be spayed. Precious and her sister Princess arrived before we ‘dumb ol’ humans’ even knew Mary had been socializing. Nowadays, ALL of our animals get spayed or neutered ASAP. Fewer puppies and kittens mean we can help more animals. O.K. O.K. Enough about spay n’ neuter. Back to the story.

Precious was a good and loving addition to our family for 16 years before Irish came to us. (He is the black cat on the right. Pure black with beautiful green eyes - what else could we name him? HeeHee!)

What I should explain is that Precious became blind about a year before we found Irish. In addition, she had developed cancer in her right eye and lost the eye shortly before Irish came to live with us. During that year, we kept Precious in a protected environment so she could get around safely, but she spent most of her time sitting by the door, attempting to get outside numerous times daily.

When Irish joined our happy throng as a baby, he immediately latched on to Precious as a substitute Mommy. We watched her groom him and train him. They slept together and became totally bonded. What was amazing, was that as Irish grew to adulthood, he became Precious’ “seeing-eye” cat. We could let both of them out into a protected back area outside and Irish would use his body to guide her safely from place to place. Irish never tried to leave the yard. In fact, he never left Precious’ side. They became an inseparable pair.

About two years after Irish joined our happy clan, Precious (now 18) suddenly weakened and passed away. We couldn’t find Irish. Frantically, Don and I searched for him, even as we were preparing Precious’ little body for her funeral. We finally found Irish, about 8 hours later, curled-up in the top shelf of a bookcase, inside a basket. He was gone to be with Precious!

We checked his beautiful body and there were no marks or damage. We were stunned! There was no rational explanation for a healthy young cat to just die. But we are convinced that he had a broken heart.

Precious and Irish were buried together in our little private cemetery. Their memorial says, “Together in Life! Together Forever!”
Brennan and her husband run Shepherd’s Haven, a private, no-kill animal sanctuary. Please visit her blog to read more about her furbabies. You may also want to make a donation to help them buy food and provide veterinary care for their rescued dogs and cats.