Replicant: cats very frequently die of Leukemia nowdays. In fact, MOST cats now born to outside cats like strays or barn cats have either Leukemia or Feline HIV. If your baby was 8 years old when he died, you were extremely fortunate to have gotten 8 long years with him, as most with Leukemia die within their first 4. And I know what it's like to lose a good feline friend - when I was 16 years old, our family cat (who I was extremely close to) died at age 21 (yep, she was older than I was). I am now 38 years old and STILL think of her on a regular basis. Just proof positive of how much of an impact pets really do have on our lives :o). And each one is irreplacable. I've decided that when my current two are gone, that I won't be getting any more. I've lost too many friends to the deficit in our species lifespans :o). Maybe I'll get a parrot - it'll most likely outlive me ;o) Laurie