MAN-CAT MONDAY WITH MADISON AND MACKENZIE

I have featured our angels, Madison and MacKenzie, in previous posts, usually on Wordless Wednesdays, so most of you know little about them.

MACKENZIE AND MADISONThe two boys joined our household almost simultaneously. Madison had wandered our neighborhood for at least six months, spending most of that time on our back deck. He was suspicious of us and wouldn’t let us pet him, but he kept returning again and again. With his magnificent blue eyes, it was almost love at first sight for me, but I vowed that I was not going to allow him to adopt us. I thought, if we didn’t encourage him, he would eventually move on.

He didn’t, and finally he began to let us approach him and then touch him. By that time, he had wormed his way into our hearts and soon after was invited to join the current clan, which consisted of Steamer, Daphne, Thelma, Louise, Chloe and Lily Olivia. We did not give him his name until then as we knew (even then), once you name a cat, that cat is yours!

MADISON AND MACKENZIEOne of the reasons we were not going to offer Madison a spot in our household was the recent adoption of an adorable and itty-bitty marmalade tabby we dubbed MacKenzie. Named Cyrus when he was delivered to us, we promptly abandoned that name for a nice Scottish one to go with all that orange fur.

A city ordinance only allows for six cats per household if they have been spayed/neutered and four if not. We were already at our legal limit prior to either of these boys joining us. But we had lost our first kitty and only boy, Skooter, and I felt our little kitty clan was not complete. So the two boys became part of our odd lot of felines we adopted as well as ones who had adopted us.

MADISON AND MACKENZIEThough they didn’t always see eye to eye in the beginning, these two became best friends, even though Mac was a kitten and Madison was already about two years old. Once they had bonded, they were nearly inseparable, except when MacKenzie was acting as my shadow. He followed me everywhere and snoopervised every little thing that I did, even though he was supposed to be his dad’s cat.

MADISON AND MACKENZIEBut then, just as they both joined us in 2001, they both left us in 2011 with little warning. Madison passed away in January very shortly after being diagnosed with lymphoma. MacKenzie died later in the year from inoperable cancer in his abdomen. Being best buddies in life, they are now best buddies at the Bridge.

MACKENZIE ND MADISONThey both continue to live in our hearts and memories. You can find out a little more about these boys on the Felines page.