Our dear friend Chelsea passed away on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008. She had been sick for quite some time, and was losing weight and having trouble breathing. Even though she must have been suffering, she still had her "purr motor" working until the very end.

She had one of the greatest purrs I've ever heard. She was a famous cat, too, appearing on Animal Planet's "Funniest Animals" doing her famous "carpet skooching" trick where I'd rub her back and she'd sneak along the floor like an infantry soldier. We also sent pictures of her to Stuff on my Cat, and the sunglasses photo appeared in 2006 under the title "Let's Roll."

We'll miss you Chelsea...and you'll always be with us.

When I first met Leah in 1996, she had two cats, Krizia and Chelsea. I grew to love them over the years, and suffered right along with Leah when Krizia passed away in 2003. And just yesterday, Chelsea was put to sleep. She was a great cat, filled with personality and humor, a kitty who always made me smile with her easy demeanor and ferocious purr.

Man, could she purr! I remember cracking Leah up when I came up with the phrase, "She's purring up the room again," and we'd often HEAR her coming before actually seeing her. That's just one of the things I'll miss about Chelsea. I tried to capture some of Chelsea's best moments through her 15 years. We'll miss her...
 

Click on the photo to see a larger version on Flickr.