I was an older single mom with an adopted 11 year old daughter when I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. I had recently lost my 16 year old tuxedo cat, Pandi to diabetes. My daughter was insisting we get another cat. After a significant search she found the one she wanted, a color point mix, that she named Sagwa after the beloved Amy Tan character in her popular children’s books. Sagwa became my daughters constant companion. She followed her all around the house, waited at the door for her to come home from school and slept with her at night. When she began dating, Sagwa would smell her all over and rub the boys scent off her when she got home. Well, children grow up, and my daughter moved to her own apartment after finishing college. She came by to visit often and sometimes took her home with her for a visit. Sagwa started to act more and more tired and was diagnosed with kidney disease. I had survived my kidney cancer but Sagwa’s kidneys did not survive. We miss her, but most of all, I miss her and my daughters childhood. It was joyful to watch them both grow up.