It's with a sad heart and empty crook in my arm that I share my sweet, sweet Tom passed on Sunday, April 27, 2025. She comfortably passed at home with very loving assistance while cuddled up next to her sister, Jonathan. Her grandma was there, continuing to misgender her after 17 years of being her grand furbaby.

Tom's origin story is...unique. She came into my life as a graduation and birthday present to myself on June 6,  2008 when I walked into Animal Talk Rescue Shelter in Seattle looking for a tabby cat named Jonathan to sit on my lap as I drank tea and read books. I found Jonathan and fell in love - and then they told me their policy of adopting kittens under 12 weeks old in pairs. I was torn - I loved Jonathan and didn't want to leave without her but 2 cats felt like a big commitment for a 22-year-old. I looked at the other kittens in same kennel, pointed at a gangly, goofy calico and said "I'll take that one".  As I was filling out the paperwork, they told me they got Jonathan's sex wrong and asked if I wanted to reconsider. It was too late, so I said "eh, I'll just name that one Tom." I wasn't going to change Jonathan's name and figured if I have on girl cat with a boy name, why not have 2. So Tom was my happy little accident, my BOGO cat.

Tom was born in early March 2008, about 2 weeks before Jonathan, so we jointly celebrated their birthdays on March 15. It quickly became apparent that they had very different personalities. Tom was sweet, goofy, loved all the pets and attention she could get, and was instantly everyone's favorite. She embodied similar characteristics as a dog and drew in even the more cat-averse with her charm and affection. Her love was infectious. She had a pretty easy life with a few roommates and boyfriends along the way, until things got really exciting in 2017.

I moved to New York City in 2017 to attend grad school and left them with my sister while I found a permanent home for us. While accounts of this story vary, that's how I met Meredith, her best friend I met on Craigslist. I tripped into Meredith's heart while Tom implanted herself in it with her intense head butts, eye kisses, love bites, and purrs. Meredith loved Tom like her own and showered in her affection, treats, outfits, and toys from Bev's Toy Shop (Meredith's mom). The saddest day of Tom's life was leaving her best friend to return home to Seattle in 2021. 

Tom always had a youthful, joyful aura. She smiled in her sleep and tricked people into thinking she was 10 years younger up than she really was up until her 17th year. She was so full of life and love that she shared with all of her favorite humans and things (and Jonathan, even when Jonathan didn't deserve it). She loved cuddling, sleeping on my chest, lap, or hip, her red penguin toy, lasers, feathers, chewing on power cords, dead-heading tulips, destroying sansevieria  (no idea how she made it to 17), catnip, butter, Goldfish crackers, yogurt, Cheez-Its, turkey, salmon sashimi. She loved her human cousins, Nico, 13, Rowen, 7, and Ella, 2, and had an extra special place in her heart for Nico. 

Tom is survived by her sister, Jonathan, 17, and her mom, Meagan, 38. She will forever be loved and remembered by her friends and family spread out across the globe.

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