Jem Esperanza Welch. Like her 80’s cartoon eponym, no one else was the same, Jem was her name! Esperanza her middle name, means Hope.

Her story begins when a resident of Ft Lupton adopted a kitten and named it Snowflake. The kitten went missing at 4 months old. She was found 16 miles away, 6 months later. The owner said she couldn’t make it all the way to Longmont Humane to claim her and she had already adopted 2 other kittens.

One day I was having a horrible day at work at the shelter. I was about to crack so I headed to cat lost and found to spend my lunch there. I grabbed the 1st cat that was trying to get my attention. I sat on the floor in front of the washer as she purred and gently made biscuits on my chest. That was it, she chose me, I chose her.

I couldn’t take her home right away I needed to set up the house for a new cat intro. So I put her in the foster office upstairs… she kept escaping like the little miss independent that she was.

She was able to live a nice indoor-outdoor life with us in Jtown and she ruled the neighborhood while culling the squirrel population.

She also had a sweet caring side to go with the independence. When Wilbur would have his sleep tremors she would cuddle up next to him and I swear it was the only thing that stopped them. I’d often come in to see full cuddle puddles with 2 cats and the 2 pits that were rated no cats.

I never expected her to be the one to panic when I had to temporarily move to Loveland during the divorce. It was so gut-wrenching that she went missing 3 days after the move. I had put ads in papers, several FB pages, Nextdoor, Pawboost, filed reports with all the nearby shelters, posters from Loveland to Jtown.

6 months later when it was time to make the big move to Savannah I wondered if I’d ever get closure on what happened to her.

Then that night came that I received a call saying they found my cat followed by a text message with her picture. 16 months she was missing, I still use her story to give people hope that are missing a cat. I still tell the story and recommend Pawboost to help find pets. I quickly started working with her finders. The nicest people ever! They took her to For the Love of Cats, got her vetted, health certificate, and agreed to hold her till I could get her. I had a transport company drive her to me and it was the most glorious reunion ever.

As much as the move to Loveland spoked her I was sure she’d have trouble adjusting here but she settled in like she had made the journey with us the year before.

She loved it here, she would go hang out with all the neighbors. This was her hood and she brought joy to so many here.

When she had the abscess 6 months ago and I tried to keep her inside so she’d get her meds… she learned to open bedroom doors.

There was no containing her, she lived life her way… as a cat should.

She and Cabby would play and chase each other around the yards then cuddle on the porch together.

I was prepared for my 14 yr old cat Aimee’s passing. I was expecting my 12 yr old dog Brooke to be next. I am beyond blindsided that this happened and happened in such a quick manner.

I wish I hadn’t have missed out on 16 months of her life and that she lived as a stray during that time. I am SOOO grateful she was found and that I got those last 2 years of her life to share. It was 2 years and 2 weeks to the date since she was found and I knew she was safe.

I wish she hadn’t have spent 7 hours between the 2 vets yesterday but I am glad that we got some sweet cuddles in before going, and that I elected to bring her home to spend her last hours in my arms.

I have lost many pets but this one is the one that has me stunned.

I have lost my “Hope”