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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

A cat that lives on in the Hall of Fame

Simba and Junior. (Photo courtesy of Earline Daly)

Several readers submitted nominations for The Slice’s Inland Northwest Barn Cat Hall of Fame.

Because it is easier to run decent sized photos online, I saluted a few of these capable cats on The Slice Blog last week. There was Callie in Rathdrum, Squeaky on Green Bluff and Butch in Newport. Fine felines all.

Which brings us to today’s Hall of Fame nominee.

Here’s the letter I received from Earline and Tom Daly, who live up near Colville.

“Dear Paul,

“We would like to nominate our barn kitty (cat) Simba, who adopted us several years ago.

“This picture is of him and a steer calf, Junior, who was very sick. They were best buddies.”

Earline said the family tried everything to bring the sick calf around, but it was only Simba’s intercessions that seemed to make a difference. The cat seemed to realize the calf was feeling poorly. And Simba simply would not ignore that.

Stay with me, the orange cat seemed to be thinking. You’re not going anywhere. Not today.

“We would find them cuddled up together in their ‘hay house’ in our barn. The steer survived.”

Simba eventually died of old age. But that cat/calf friendship convinced Earline that animals are capable of caring.

“I would call this picture ‘A friend comforting a friend’ or ‘A loyal friend will always be by your side.’”

A Hall of Fame friend.

Slice answers: “I know that after I have been out of town and just gotten back, the one thing that reminds me that there is no place like Spokane is when I arrive at my home in Sagle and realize that here is where I am truly at peace with myself,” wrote Jim Corcoran.

Barry Bauchwitz shared this. “When I am returning home from Newark, Seattle, Phoenix, L.A., etc., I get in the endless security lines at those airports to fly home. The wait is sometimes more than an hour and I think about the serenity and relative calm at Spokane International and just smile.”

Today’s Slice question: If you are already considering hosting a big Christmas party does that mean you are overthinking it?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Does the Tooth Fairy pay more in Washington than in Idaho?