On January 30, 2003 at 4:15pm EST, my beloved first cat, Slash, passed away after exploratory surgery to find a lump in her stomach. A large tumor was found in her kidney, but the stress of the surgery was too much and she did not recover afterwards.

Slash was the first cat I got and I had a special bond with her, even though she wasn't a very playful cat, or a very active cat. She was a very loving cat and being with her enriched my life. Now that she's gone, there's a hole no other cat can ever fill, though I am comforted by my other cats Jackie and Dash (and now Meenie).

Some people say their cats are like their children, I did feel this way, and hence I only have something left to say that my dad would sometimes say to me. I sang this to Slash before she went into surgery, and I sang it to her before I said goodbye to her the last and final time.

 
Aveek Datta