(March 1986 - March 22, 2006)

Dezi was our family cat; Sadina was there when she was born, and since that time Dezi has been Sadina's constant companion. She was named “Dezi” because her mother was “ABC,” and this was going to be Sadina and her mom’s last cat, which covered the rest of the alphabet, from D through Z (Sadina also was a big fan of I Love Lucy and Desi Arnez). Dezi was the only cat in the litter, so she was quite spoiled and, as such, never needed to compete (or share) with other cats for food or attention.

For Sadina, Dezi always was a source of comfort who helped to alleviate the stress during most of her undergraduate and much of her graduate school years. When Sadina briefly moved home after graduating from UCLA, Dezi was her companion and roommate, and was always by her side, sharing milk, ice cream and movies with her. Sadina remembers Dezi literally always being by her side, lying on her desk while she worked on the numerous rewrites of her doctoral dissertation in grad school. Over the years Sadina became so accustomed to Dezi laying next to her while she worked that to this day she still reflexively reaches out to pet her during breaks in typing. Sadina cherishes the memory of Dezi's smell, feeling her soft comforting fur next to her, and how she would contentedly lift her head when Sadina scratched her under the chin.

Randy never had a pet growing up, so it was quite an adjustment for him initially when he and Sadina began to share a home. (It no doubt also was an big adjustment for Dezi!) When Dezi was brought into their new home, since she was in unfamiliar surroundings, she spent most of the day hiding underneath the bed during the first few weeks. She was used to sleeping with Sadina, so in the middle of the night, she would come out of her hiding place and suddenly jump onto the bed, which sometimes startled Randy practically out of his pajamas! In short time, however, Randy not only adjusted to Dezi, the two of them developed a close bond of their own as well. (Randy later asked Sadina whether she would have had to make a decision between him and Dezi early on when they started dating if he hadn’t gotten used to her cat — her response was “Yes,” and Randy is pretty sure he wouldn’t have come out on top!)

Although her coloring made her look very wild, like a small tiger, Dezi was very graceful and feminine. During the holidays, she would gracefully leap over our display of greeting cards without knocking over a single card, when even a small breeze could send them fluttering. She was very fastidious and took pride in her looks, and she hated to get her feet wet or dirty. She had a stripe that draped low around neck her with a white spot in the middle which made it look like she was wearing a diamond necklace.

At the small blue house in Culver City that we lived in when we were first married, Dezi’s favorite spot was up in the attic. She would sit in the small, round window at the top of the house, and watch and wait for us when we would come home. We could see her looking down at us when we pulled into the driveway, then she would disappear so that by the time we walked through the front door, she would be skipping into the living room to greet us with a soft “hello” meow (or sometimes a big yawn since she sometimes had been napping!)

Though Dezi liked to jump on top of all the furniture and no doubt knew every crook and cranny of our home, she was very well behaved and temperate, dainty, never scratched the furniture, and always knew to use her catbox. (In fact, we used to place an old empty box in the corner of a room which she instinctively knew immediately was for her to use to scratch and keep her claws sharp). Like all cats, Dezi liked attention and being stroked, but would let you know when she had enough either by walking away, meowing softly at you, or placing a paw firmly on your arm. (If you were too rough, she was also known to clamp her jaw on your forearm to stop you with a low growl, but she never bit you or broke skin.) She rarely gave strangers the time of day (let alone allow anyone other than the immediate family touch her), which actually made those of us who she did allow to hold and pet her feel special. (Whenever company and especially children came over, she just stayed out of sight!) As you can see from the picture at the very top of this webpage, taken on the day she was taken to the vet to be euthanized, Dezi was a very svelte and youthful-looking cat to the very end; on her last day, the vet said she looked remarkably good for a cat of her age.

Dezi was the only cat in the litter, and this is what we think made her so smart (she nursed with her mother for quite a long time!). When Sadina became pregnant with Peri, Randy was admittedly a bit worried over how an older cat who always had the run of the house – and who never had to compete for attention before – would react to having to share attention with a newborn. But Dezi seemed to understand that Peri (and, later, Dashiell) was a member of the family; in fact, Dezi allowed Peri to get away with things with her that she would never have let anyone else do, even Sadina or Randy! This included dressing her up, putting hats on her head, carrying her around bodily, etc. Anyone who knows Dezi knows that if anyone else tried that, she would not have put up with such behavior and would have simply walked away annoyed!

Anyway, Dezi always had been a healthy and active cat, but in the past few years, she has experienced bladder infections, bloody discharges, lost her teeth, and probably suffered other maladies we were not aware of. (Cats are notorious for being able to hide illness well as a defense mechanism.) She became increasingly inconsistent in using her catbox, we suspect because of arthritis which gave her trouble getting in and out of her catbox, and other health reasons. One morning, Randy noticed that she had no interest in her food and seemed listless; later that evening and the next day, Sadina and Randy clearly could see she was having trouble walking or even remaining upright – her legs could not even support her. Randy observed her going to her food bowl but then returning to where she had been hiding without eating.

Added to her behaviors over the last several years, it was clear that Dezi was near the natural end of her life – 20 years is quite a long life for a cat (they are considered old by about 7 years of age!). As such, Sadina and Randy already had made peace with the fact that this day would come soon, and made the decision to bring her to their vet and determine whether euthanasia would be appropriate. On March 22, 2006, Randy brought her to Center-Sinai Animal Hospital in Los Angeles, which was the primary vet facility we had used in the past for Dezi. (The family said their goodbyes to Dezi that morning before going off to work and school.) The doctor agreed that, given quality of life issues, putting her to sleep would be an appropriate humane decision if we wanted to do that.

Dezi was a member of our family, and this page is in memory to the love, happiness, and richness she brought to our lives.

The Reynaldo Family
March 22, 2006