Nicola Ginzler

Senior Graphic Designer
Photo of a red heavy cardboard box with black corners on the lid, on a light gray patterned comforter. A label on the front of the box has a photo of a black cat lying on a flowered beige comforter.

Lucy’s the Cat’s “Memory Box” – (TW: pet death, grief)

This is Lucy’s “Memory Box,” where I keep mementos of her life. It usually sits on a shelf in my closet but I take it out once a year on the anniversary of her death, September 28, and go through everything. I’m posting some of the items on this page. Today is the 17th anniversary.

I made this “pet emergency card” and attached it to her carrier for when she went to her vet, Mission Pet Hospital in San Francisco.

Photo of Lucy's "pet emergency card," which I attached to her carrier. The top part has a photo of her lying down and her name, sex, color, weight and microchip number. The bottom part has contact information and the name and address of her vet (both blocked out).
Photo of canned cat food lid: black with a thick white ring and the "meow!" written in white. The lid is on a light gray comforter.

Here’s her canned cat food cover, plus part of the “pet emergency card” and part of one of her brushes.

Mission Pet Hospital sent me this lovely card, signed by the staff, after Lucy passed. Earlier I had dropped off her carrier and leftover medication for another kitty to use.

Photo of the inside of a greeting card with sweet messages from Lucy's vet office.
Photo of medication prescription label: Methimazole 50 mg/mL Transdermal

I rubbed this gel in one or the other of Lucy’s ears once daily. She was kind of tolerant of the procedure, but sometimes got squirmy.

From GoodRx:

“Methimazole is an antithyroid medication that’s used to treat hyperthyroidism. It’s given long term to manage thyroid hormone levels in cats. It can also be used to normalize levels before thyroid surgery.

Methimazole works by blocking thyroid hormones from being made. This helps lower thyroid hormone levels in the blood.”

The brush on the left went with Lucy to the vet, which is why it has her name on it; the boar bristle brush was her favorite; and she also liked the wire “slicker brush.” All the brushes still have some of her fur in them.

Photo of 3 brushes for Lucy's fur: a small, soft brush with black bristles and a light wood handle, a larger brush with dark boar bristles and a dark wood handle and a small wire brush with a black plastic handle.
Photo of the orange felt cover of a journal with a blue stylized "Ice Bat" figure in turquoise blue felt, on a light gray comforter. Ice Bat is one of the UglyDolls plush toys.

This is a journal with an orange felt cover and an Ice Bat” design in turquoise felt. Ice Bat is one of the UglyDolls plushies, first launched in 2001. There’s also a 2019 movie, “UglyDolls.”

I wrote about Lucy in this journal in the last few months of her life, and after her death. Too personal to share.

This frame holds two photos of Lucy and the name tape for her carrier (written by her vet clinic). The “Pleasure Kitten” sticker was on her water bowl.

Photo of a framed photo of Lucy on a patterned comforter. Another photo is stuck to the frame, as well as "Lucy Ginzler" written in Sharpie on white tape, and a sticker that says "PLEASURE KITTEN" in silver on a black background.

This is part of a little altar I have for my three cats who have died: Lucy (2008), Isotope (2016) and Perdita (2018). I gave them dollhouse furniture and food. Lucy also has a small Dia de los Muertes* figurine of a skeleton kitty with a butterfly in its mouth. The hexagonal box is hammered tin with red velvet edging. Everything below is kept in this box, including the fortune cookie fortune I mention in the video.

*I say it wrong in the video.

Photo of a small empty plastic bag that previously contained Lucy's ashes.

This little plastic bag previously contained Lucy’s ashes. “SFVS” is San Francisco Veterinary Services, who took care of her cremation. I scattered her ashes in San Francisco’s Dolores Park, near where she and I used to live.

She caught the moth and then abandoned it.

Photo of a fortune cookie fortune: "A short stranger will soon enter your life with blessings to share." Above and to the right, a dead moth.
Photo of a lot of Lucy's fallen black whiskers

Over the years I collected Lucy’s fallen whiskers.