Tina Turner Cantlope Memorial Fund

Tina Turner was my first cat. Tina was a wonderful cat.

Originally I saw her on Petfinder during a transitional time in my life. It was love at first sight, an 8-year-old baby with a deep yellow stare. I thought, once I was ready, if she was still available, I would adopt her. And, as luck would have it -- there she was, still listed several months later!

Not that no one had applied. Tina needed to be the only cat in the house -- the Queena, you could say. As my first cat, this worked out perfectly! And, despite her past, she warmed up to me quickly as a loving and devoted tortie. We met in 2019 and only grew closer through the pandemic.

Now she's gone, and quite suddenly. Most cats have kidney problems at some point -- something about the way they've evolved -- but especially cats with stub tails, like manxes and cymrics. Tina's problems manifested quickly and were too much for her to bear comfortably, so we said goodbye to her. This hadn't been her first bout of kidney issues, so we did not want her to suffer; apparently, prior to the fostering situation I had found her in, she was owned by someone who attempted to put her down for "peeing all over the place". That was an issue that had been ignored, allowing her to suffer for some period of time, before she was rescued from that situation and given the care she needed. But who knows what toll that took on her kidneys, which may have also had a congenital defect on top of it all.

I wanted to do right by her, and it felt like we were only getting started. Catios, safe harness walks, I wanted it all for her. But I also wanted to do right by her. My tears are for my past old dogs, Shelby and Ramsey, too, who I never could have cared for the way I wanted to in the situation we were in. I hope they know that I would have done right by them, too.

The ability to live freely, to invest in love. That's what the last 4 years with Tina taught me the most... I hope they all see it now. I hope they know that I loved them. (I mean, Tina did keep trying to kiss me to check on me. What more could I even ask for?)

This fund is to help recoup the costs of her final days. Thank you all for your love and your concern.