It is with a heavy heart that we must let you know that we took Eclipse to the vet today and eased her way to the next plane. For those of you who hadn't heard, she was suffering from end-stage kidney failure. She would have been four years old next month.

Eclipse and her siblings were a surprise to everyone. Her mother, Eostre, was a stray who came to us in Wales, with a broken leg. Eostre went through several anesthesias and X-rays and operations without anyone, including the vets, realising she was pregnant. When we came home from a week-long bike trip to Scotland, our house sitter had left us a note: "Watch where you step."

Eclipse got her name from her black-and-white particoloured face, and also from an incident that occurred during the solar eclipse in Britain in August 1999. We were outside watching the event when we heard a curious and disturbing bang in the house. Now, the owners of the house, when they'd renovated the kitchen, had made the brilliant move of putting the wine rack next to the stove. Eclipse was in the bottom of the rack when the lone bottle of red wine gave way. (The bulk of the bottle was still sitting in the rack...) Poor wee Eclipse was no longer a black-and-white kitten ; she was a red-and-white kitten, and a very upset one at that.

She is survived by her mother Eostre and her brother Grimoire. She has gone to be with her brother Snowdon (d. 2002) and an unnamed stillborn sibling.

If you are so inclined and can afford it, please consider making a donation to your local cat rescue shelter. We will eventually be making a donation to the Feline Conservation Center, where we will be able to "buy" a commemorative brick for Eclipse that will be placed in their entrance walkway (http://www.cathouse-fcc.org/).

At the very least, please go to http://bigcats.care2.com/welcome?w=598788418 on a regular basis and click to donate to other big cat rescue services. It takes only a minute or two of your time, and is free.

Eclipse was a very sweet and loving cat. She will be missed.