Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day ~ Alphie's Legacy

Vermont's only cat cafe, the Kitty Korner Cafe in Barre, has faced its share of challenges over the past year. 

In July 2023 a catastrophic flood severely damaged the cafe. Owner Alexis Dexter was forced to hammer holes into the floor to force the flood water into the basement, destroying all the supplies she had stored there. She was a true hero and managed to keep every one of the 57 cats in her care safe. 

The cafe was closed for months while repairs were made, and shockingly, on the one year anniversary of the 2023 flood, the cafe was damaged by yet another flood! Thankfully the damage was nowhere near as bad this time, but the basement had to be mucked out yet again. 

Then on July 24, 2024, a Good Samaritan found a horribly neglected cat at a local playground and brought her into the cafe. Alphie was skin and bones, dehydrated, and barely able to lift her head. After days of fluids, antibiotics, and syringe feeding, Alphie began the slow process of recovery. She began eating on her own, using the litter box, talking little walks, even discovering the joy of playing with toys.

Her favorite place became the shop's front window where she could soak up the sun. People would walk by the window and stop into the cafe to ask about her and shower her with the love and attention she'd obviously never received before. One of her fans even redecorated her window seat one weekend with a bed, blankie, and toys, all for her. 

This past Saturday afternoon the weather was so nice that Alphie got to go outside where she watched the world go by in the sun. Sadly, her precious little body had sustained too much abuse, and on Sunday, August 25th, Alphie crossed the Rainbow Bridge. 

The heartbreaking announcement on the cafe's Facebook page is a must read...

"Whoever Alphie began her life with did everything they could to make this girl suffer and in the end, they caused something we couldn't fix with all the love in the world," Alexis wrote. "She brought a community together, made people smile and brought awareness to a sad but true reality where not every cat gets the love they deserve until it's too late," she added. "If people could be half as good and pure as this little kitty, we would live in a much better place." 

This is Alphie's legacy. 

Even though I never had the honor of meeting her in person, I will never, ever forget Alphie, and I know everyone who followed her story feels the same way. 

ABOUT RAINBOW BRIDGE REMEMBRANCE DAY:

This special day was created by Deborah Barnes – author, award winning blogger, and cat advocate in tribute to her cat, Mr. Jazz, who she had to say goodbye to on August 28, 2013. She shared the journey of letting him go in her book, “Purr Prints of the Heart: A Cat’s Tale of Life, Death, and Beyond,” a warm and heartfelt book that is written in the wise and comforting voice of Mr. Jazz himself as he shares his life and death journey to offer guidance and understanding through a cat’s perspective as to why sometimes letting a pet go can be the greatest gift you give them.

A special event page for Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day has been created on Facebook so that people can share blog post links, pictures, poems, favorite memories, etc.