Brown-tabby an white bob-tailed gurl finishes her tribute to Little
Bit uv da Jesse Memorial Cat Complex, turns and gives a quick earwash
to the brown-tabby an white long-tailed gurl standing beside her, then
turns back to the Jellicle assembly.

My winkwink, Pandora Pussycat, and I wud like to give a tribute to anuther
member uv da JMCC who haz gone to da Bridge dis yeer. I'm prowd to be
related by winking to da JMCC clowder, an honnered to be able to gif dis
tribute, cuz Penrod wuz a furry speshul kitty.

[gently snipped]

Fangu Tally an Pandy (speshully Tally!) for dat. Now dat I FINALLY
have a typist ritin for me I can say a few words myself.

Well, Penrod an I took a wile to warm up to eech other. I always
thought he wuz kinda pushy. But I hafta admit, he wuz a gud leader an
he did a grate job keepin those trooder kitties away. I fink I bedder
let Momma Jo give da rest of da tribute.

Miranda-banda, draggin Momma Jo out.

Thanks, Tally and Pandy and Miranda. Tally I really appreciate your
doing this for us. I just didn't know where to begin to write a
tribute to Penrod. But I'll try.

Penrod arrived at the JMCC on his own paws. He started showing up at
the cat house and cat garage looking like he could use some food and
shelter and TED attention. I thought he was a girl, so we called him
Penelope. One day I got a look under his tail and I knew he was
Penrod instead.

Penrod was a very dominant cat and I worried that he would be able to
fit into our community. But after a while, he calmed down. He
learned who belonged and who didn't, and assumed the role of defender
of the clowder. He patrolled the cat house and cat garage and also
maintained rights inside the hoomin house. He was cat enough and
confident enough that, when somebody like Miranda would whap him or
growlhiss at him he never felt the need to retaliate. He just walked
away like a gentlecat.

He and Little Bit were sometimes scared of each other and occasionally
got into disagreements that were based on misunderstanding.
Eventually, they came to understand and even like each other.

Penrod had a very tender and magical side. Whenever he was low on
energy or whenever he sensed we were low on energy, he would plaster
himself on our chests, wrap his front paws around our necks, and do an
energy exchange. If we needed energy, he would siphon his own energy
into us. If he needed energy, he would draw if out of us into
himself. It didn't matter which way the flow was going, though; we
always felt energized afterwards.

He was always friendly and outgoing. Everybody knew and loved Penrod.
He did have a habit of biting and scratching hard, without much
warning, if you got on his nerves. We learned to read his body
language well enough to get out of the way when he was feeling grumpy.
Most of the time, he had a wonderful healing presence most of the
time. He gave off great cat heat and just the right weight so that
when he plopped himself down on us, it felt really cozy. And he was
always very good about getting medical treatments, even if he didn't
like them. He had been in the Out and knew what it was like to have
no one care about him, and he was so grateful to be loved and cared
for.

He was very very brave during his final illness. He put up with his
illness without complaint and managed to enjoy life right up until the
very end. When he finally gave us word that it was time to quit, his
body really was pretty much used up. But he remained cheerful and
positive right up until that time.

Our lives were richer for having Penrod in our lives. We depended on
him for so much--love and affection and the excellent leadership he
provided for the whole clowder. When Little Bit went to the Bridge,
all of the responsibility for maintaining order fell on his shoulders,
and he did a magnificent job of handling the many challenges that came
his way.

Penrod adored Sheba. He loved her for many years but thought she had
another winkwink. He was thrilled when she told him she felt the same
way about him. They had a wonderful happy relationship. And Sheba
was the one that let the whole world know how wonderful Orcacats are.

He was way too young to have to go to The Bridge and we were so sorry
he had to go. We always wonder what happened to him before he found
his way to us. We know he had fallen on hard times, and we are so
grateful that we were able to give him a OneTrooHome. We miss him
very much, but we are grateful that he graced our lives with his
loving presence as long as he did.

Momma Jo