Named after: Dobro player Jerry Douglas, banjo player J.D. Crowe, Crow T. Robot, and the neighborhood in Chicago where Becky was living at the time

Nicknames: Snugless, Snugs, Doolish (Douglas in the Manx language), Douglas Long-Torso, El Negrito, Squeaky Bird, "Douglasgetdown," "Douglasmove," Big Fat Long Black Snugless, Old Man Douglas

Breed: Domestic Shorthair (house cat)

Born: July 10, 1994, in Indianapolis, Indiana

Went to his Next Life: December 8, 2009, in Downers Grove, Illinois

Color: Black, black, and more black, with yellow eyes.

Voice: Douglas lost his regular voice in early 2000 and sometimes, when he opened his mouth, nothing came out except an "eck" sound. In his last year, he began to "quack" in the morning when he wanted his food.

Favorite pastimes: Biting, playing with Mr. Jingles (a mouse on a fishing pole), playing with his Deadhead toy (ribbon on a stick), playing "Here Comes the Snake" (i.e. biting my arm), shedding, watching birds, chipmunks and squirrels at the feeder, watching mice, possums, skunks, shrews, and raccoons outside, sitting on Becky, hugging Becky with his paws around the neck, running for vice-president, throwing up, sleeping, snoring

Favorite movies: The Black Cat, That Darn Cat, Spartacus, Wall Street, Snakes on a Plane, Jaws

Favorite songs: "My Way," "That's the Way I Like It," "Mine Mine Mine," "Gimme Some," "Back In Black," "Love Bites," "Amos Moses,""China Cat Sunflower," "Cats Under the Stars," "Stray Cat Strut," "Black Cat," "Leave My Kitten Alone," "We Are Siamese If You Please," "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)," "Black Is Black," "Superstition," "Three Blind Mice," "It's a Marshmallow World"

Favorite musical artists: Jerry Douglas, the Sir Douglas Quintet, Carl Douglas, Carol Douglas, The Stray Cats, Kingsbury Manx, Jingle Cats, Josie and the Pussycats, Modest Mouse, Black Sabbath, Black 47, The Snug, and three very special horn players!

Least favorite musical artists and songs: Three Dog Night, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Joe Cocker, "Hound Dog," "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo," "Who Let the Dogs Out," "Black Dog," "Bird Dog," "Atomic Dog"

Favorite cat foods: I gave Douglas high-end dry food, including Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet Sensitive Stomach, and Nature's Best, but his favorite is dry Fancy Feast. In his last year or so, he developed a taste for Meow Mix Wholesome Goodness wet food, but only the seafood flavors. He also didn't care for most semi-moist cat treats, but he liked "Pounce Caribbean Catch." Go figure.

Favorite people foods: Tuna, pretzels

Strange people foods he has eaten or sampled: Orange juice, Diet Coke, pineapple, mangos, grapes, potato chips, plantain chips, yuca chips, candy corn, Gummy Bears, jelly beans, Lucky Charms, Frosted Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, Fruit Loops, vanilla cake frosting, pork rinds, melba toast, oyster crackers, popcorn, Fruity Booty, Wahoos, Chex Mix (traditional flavor), fortune cookies, hummus, bagel chips, mozzarella cheese, Slim-Fast, ice cream (Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia), pizzelles.

What's this about marshmallows?: He loved them! He came running whenever he heard Becky say "Marshmallows" or when she rattles the bag. Douglas preferred the smaller, Lucky Charms-style marshmallows to the Kraft kind, but ate both. He had two marshmallow related tricks: Trick One consisted of standing up on his back legs, like a squirrel to get his marshmallows. Trick Two involved "catching" marshmallows in mid-air.

What happened to Douglas? Douglas developed kidney failure, common in older cats, at age 15. He was diagnosed in August 2009. He was put on high-end Royal Canin renal food. Between August and December 2009, his health deteriorated - his skin was dry, he wasn't drinking as much, and his back leg muscles began to fail. He was so sluggish. At his final vet visit, the vet said his temperature was very low and his internal organs were beginning to shut down. Douglas was put to sleep on December 8, 2009, the twenty-ninth anniversary of cat-lover John Lennon's death. I had the vet give him a marshmallow at the end. I like to think Douglas, Bella, Ko-Ko, Izzy, Lucky, Pretzel, Cassidy, Ringo, Molly, Kri, Bo Peep, and all my friends' late cats and dogs are playing together now at the Rainbow Bridge.