In 2004, a kitten was adopted from Young-Williams Animal Center. His family named him “PJ”.

We received this beautiful story from PJ’s owners sharing that PJ had recently passed on, and we wanted to share his life with you, our fellow animal lovers.

From PJ’s Family:

“I am writing this on a very sad day when we lost our beloved 18-year-old cat, who came through Young-Williams before his adoption. On September 9, 2004, my sister-in-law, Pam, and her daughter/my niece, Stephanie, visited Young-Williams on a special mission: to find just the right kitten to give my son on his forth birthday. We were all so full of happiness when we first met this 5-month-old little ball of orange and white fur weighing all of 5.5 pounds. It was love at first sight and he immediately stole our hearts. My son, being a huge fan of Thomas the Train, wanted to name him “Percy James” after two of Thomas’ train friends, but given that was a long name for such a tiny kitten, we settled on PJ for short.

PJ lead an adventurous and full life as an indoor/outdoor cat. He was a lover, not a hunter, but also was fierce defender and protector of his turf enduring many a cat fight through the years. On August, 2006, just a few weeks short of two years after Pam and Stephanie brought PJ home to us and much, much too soon, we lost Pam to cancer – a tremendous and tragic loss for our family. PJ became even more special to me in that he was a direct connection to Pam and symbolic of a happier day gone by.

The years moved by too quickly, as they all seem to do now, and PJ grew from that little ball of fur to the most handsome, sweet, precious, gentle, and loving member of our family we could have ever asked for. Over time as we endured the losses of two dogs, another cat, friends, and more family members, PJ remained steadfast and true giving of himself in our times of grief. He was always the go-to who lifted us up when we needed it most and allowed us to love him unconditionally.

As what happens when we open our lives and our hearts to God’s most special creatures, we love deeper than we ever thought we could and become vulnerable. As this last week brought circumstances and events that jeopardized PJ’s survival and we knew most likely his days were few, our hearts began to break a little more each day. Friends and family joined in praying for PJ to pull through, but his age presented challenges greater than his 18 years of living could overcome. We lost our most handsome, sweet, precious, gentle, and loving member of our family.

The void in our hearts and lives at this moment as I write this feels almost unbearable. To find comfort, I believe that PJ has gone to the Rainbow Bridge where his body is restored to “perfect health and vigor.” But instead of waiting for us to join him, he has crossed on over and is in the loving arms of my dear sister-in-law Pam who I know will take care of him until we are all reunited one day.

I am including below a picture of our precious PJ. I know you will fall in love with him instantly as we did. This was his most peaceful place in his bed on my desk at home in front of his window. He was my constant companion and copilot as I worked. I also hope you will accept the food an litter that I am including with this note to help other PJs you so tirelessly, compassionately, and graciously care for until they too are adopted, and I enclose a check in loving memory of our PJ. You are doing the Lord’s work caring for these babies, both young and not so young, and please know that I will always be grateful beyond words for the 18 years we had with PJ. He was truly a blessing.”