In Memory of my Precious Patches

Patches “Angela” Henson

May 5, 1998 – October 27, 2015

Patches was born around May 5, 1998 on the streets of “the Gayborhood,” Philadelphia, PA.  She came to us from the Morris Animal Refuge.  Her new mother had been looking at adopting a Maine Coon, but after two weeks of deciding on a kitten, Patches chose her.  She had a brother and a sister, one an orange Tabby like her and one was black.

In her early days at her new home, she responded to any name that began with a “P.”  One night, she heard the word “precious” on the TV and turned her head towards it.  The next day, on her first visit to a vet, the doctor asked her name and her mother responded with “Precious.”  She went by that name for quite a while.  Her admirers gave her other names throughout the years such as “A-patch” and “Patchwork.”

Patches lived a long and happy life.  She moved around a lot and adjusted easily.  She lived in three homes in Philadelphia.  On Rodman St. she was confined to a small condo, but loved the one-on-one time with her mommy there.  She enjoyed going on road trips to see the family outside of the city.  She moved to N. Taylor St. where she loved to run the stairs of the tall split-level home and had a small yard to play in.  It was there that she made friends with a huge neighboring dog named Kojo, which really worried Kojo’s parents because he was not the most friendly dog.  But hey, they liked each other.  She then moved to the big house on Aspen St. where she ruled the kingdom.

Patches spent her last 5.5 years happily with the Henson family in West Chester PA.  There she spent years trying to ignore the hustle and bustle of the house and hiding from children.  But she loved the attention she got from her cousins Angela and Dan, to beg for food from her Aunt Mary – all day, and to sit on the arm of her grandmother’s chair.

Other than napping in her basket (one her mommy received as a gift to use for bathroom towels at the condo – but gave to Patches instead), she enjoyed hunting mice and leaving them as prizes on the middle of a rug; stealing flowers at night from vases on the dining room table; and joining her mommy for coffee on the back deck in the wee hours of the morning whenever her mommy visited.  Even at 17 and a half, she wanted to go outside everyday just to see what was going on and nibble on a little grass.

Patches was laid to rest on October 27, 2015 at the hands of a wonderful and loving country vet, Dr. Jane Latta, just as her big half-sister Pepper was in 1990.

Patches is survived by her Mommy and frau-le, Theresa, of Ankara, Turkey, her step-something Barış, and her half-brother Lucky whom she never had a chance to meet, but heard a lot about.  She also leaves behind her loving caretakers: grandmother Ann; her Aunt Mary; Cousins Angela and Dan, and her mommy’s brother John, all of whom did a fabulous job caring for her after her mommy’s move to Turkey.  She is also survived by her cousins Christine and Chanel, who with Dan and Angela, loved to send photos of Patches to Patches’ mommy, and by numerous other family and friends who “grew” to love her (even when Patches tried to scratch them.)  She joins her half-siblings, Pumpkin, Pepper T. (Theophilus), and Jezebel, and her step-brother Jack Bud in Kitty Heaven.

Patches was definitely precious and a princess.  She had her own ideas and was not afraid to speak her mind.  When she was in the room, we knew who was in charge.  But once in a while she gave in, because her favorite thing was being held in the arms of her Mommy.

Patches was a great cat and will be truly missed.