Alice & Jenni — 2023

The Beginning

Born the day before I left.

The plan was to move to San Francisco on April 1, 2008. The day before — March 31 — Alice was born. I got to meet her that morning before heading north to pursue circus arts at the San Francisco Circus Center.

She joined me in the city weeks later. From that first moment, we were inseparable. Wherever I went, she came. Whatever I built, she supervised.

Eighteen years. San Francisco to Arcata, CA to Tacoma, WA. City apartments, road trips, career pivots, hard winters, late nights coding, early mornings drawing, game jams, devlogs, streams. She was present for every single one.

Grey tabby. White third-eye spot on her forehead. Ancient eyes that looked at you like she already knew how everything was going to turn out.

She passed peacefully on May 26, 2026. She was at home, with us. She was comfortable.

Her life in moments

18 Years

March 31, 2008

She arrives.

Born the day before Jenni's move to San Francisco. A tiny grey kitten with white markings and an old soul. She joins the household weeks later — and immediately takes charge of everything.

2008 — 2019

The years of good health.

San Francisco, then Arcata, CA, then Tacoma, WA. Through every move and every apartment, she was there. She appeared in art, in devlogs, in streams. She sat next to the monitor for every game jam.

2019

Hyperthyroidism — and a community that showed up.

Diagnosed at 11 years old. Friends and community donors funded radioactive iodine (I-131) treatment — a one-time curative procedure. It worked completely. She bounced back and thrived. Those donors gave her seven more years. Seven more years happened because people showed up.

2021

Peak health.

15.66 lbs. Thriving. Comfortable. Opinionated. The I-131 had bought her years that looked like this — still in charge of the house, still finding the warm spot before anyone else did.

2024

Two diagnoses, one cat.

Hyperthyroidism returned. Chronic Kidney Disease diagnosed. Two conditions that interact in complicated, sometimes contradictory ways. She started medication and a prescription renal diet. By November 2024: 8.52 lbs. She didn't lose another ounce after that. Holding weight for 18 months on a kidney diet matters — it meant she was stable.

March 31, 2026

She turns 18.

Eighteen years old. Still finding the warm spot first. Still running the house. Still supervising everything. A second fundraiser launched to help fund a final comprehensive diagnostic panel and a peaceful end-of-life at home. The community showed up again.

May 26, 2026

She goes home.

Alice passed peacefully at home in Tacoma, WA. She was with Jenni and Shade. She was comfortable. It was a good death — the kind she deserved after 18 years of a very full life.

2018 — before the first diagnosis

Always supervising

The people she loved

Her People

🌸

Jenni

Alice's original person. Adopted her in 2008 as a newborn kitten. There from day one, right through to the last.

💜

Shade

Family, partner, Alice's person since 2011. They were together for the last fifteen years of Alice's life.

🌟

Mila

Friend who recommended the vet who cared for Alice through her final years — and babysat Alice while Jenni and Shade were at EDC in 2025.

🌺

The Community That Saved Her

In 2019, Alice was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Radioactive iodine therapy — a one-time curative treatment — was the right call. It was also expensive. Friends and community donors made it possible.

It worked. Completely. She bounced back and lived seven more years of good health. Seven years that only happened because people showed up for a grey cat they'd never met.

In 2026, the community showed up again with donations toward Alice's senior care and end-of-life fund. Because of that generosity, her final weeks were cared for, and she was not alone.

To everyone who donated in 2019 and in 2026: thank you. She had more time because of you.

What she carried

Her Fight

Hyperthyroidism appeared in her later years. The community funded a curative treatment in 2019 — radioactive iodine therapy — which worked completely and gave her seven more years.

Kidney disease appeared in 2024. She stabilized on a prescription renal diet. She didn't lose another ounce after November 2024. She was still herself. Still opinionated. Still finding the warm spot first.

The interaction between the two conditions was complicated — treating one too aggressively could harm the other. She required careful monitoring and a narrow calibration of medication that her vet team managed with patience.

Right up until she wasn't — she was herself.

Creative companion

Alice the Muse

Alice was my creative companion from the very first apartment in San Francisco. She was there through every game jam, every late-night coding session, every pivot and restart.

She appeared in art, devlogs, and streams for years. My first Unity platformer — Cat-As-Trophy — was built while she sat on the desk next to me. The cat protagonist isn't exactly Alice. But she's the reason there's a cat at all.

She starred in Kitty McBlubberton, a Ludum Dare game jam entry — 48 hours of pure sleep-deprived game dev magic, with a grey tabby supervisor the whole time.

She's in the creative DNA of eighteen years of work. Every cat character, every cat game, every late-night build. Her.

Cat-As-Trophy Kitty McBlubberton Read the full story

With Jenni, 2023