Daisy

"...She is not an affectionate cat. She spends most of her day sleeping on the hamper. She hisses at strangers. She doesn’t particularly like to be petted. She doesn’t really like any kind of cat toys, even catnip. I’m kind of wondering if she really wants to come home."

- Statement about Daisy during her second disappearance. Daisy May (formerly known as Princess) was a female, white, short-haired cat who was adopted in 2004 and owned until her death in 2017. Daisy was the only non-fish pet in the house until Lila was adopted in 2007.

Daisy had an incredibly abrasive and belligerent personality. She was opposed to nearly all forms of affection, disliked all toys and most food, and frequently attacked people with her claws or teeth. A constant flight risk, Daisy went missing twice; the longest time she was lost was about three months.

Daisy died from a blood clot in March 2017.

Adoption
Daisy was born on August 12, 2004 at a humane society in Maryland Heights, Missouri, where she was called Princess. Her mother was named Scarlett and she had at least two littermates, who had black fur unlike Daisy and her mother. This could suggest that Daisy's father was black-furred.

Probably about eight weeks after her birth, Princess was adopted and renamed Daisy May. Although she was allegedly a happy kitten, Daisy eventually developed a grumpy, unlikable personality that she had for her entire adult life.

First disappearance
Daisy first disappeared sometime in 2006 or 2007, and she was missing for about two days. After it was realized that Daisy had not been seen lately, the house was searched, and Daisy was declared missing. She remained missing until she was found in the garage two days later, meowing loudly. It is unknown if Daisy had been in the garage all along or if she had returned to the garage after being lost.

Second disappearance
On the morning of September 2, 2009, Daisy was discovered to be missing. She had apparently escaped through an open door during the day. Sometime earlier, Daisy's collar had been removed while someone was petting her, so she had no identification.

The search effort begun immediately. A blog dedicated to locating Daisy, Looking for Daisy, was created soon after her disappearance. A listing was placed on Craigslist on September 3, and about 200 flyers were distributed around the neighborhood that weekend. Throughout the first several days, there were several sightings of Daisy around the neighborhood, but no attempts to catch her were successful.

On September 6, the first makeshift trap was set up in the garage. A more elaborate trap was later borrowed from the local humane society. Another cat, not Daisy, was caught by the trap on September 16.

The search was abandoned about 20 days after Daisy went missing. In early October, a new cat was adopted as Daisy's replacement. That cat, named Owen, was given to the animal shelter in November because he "peed all over the house".

Around December 5, 2009, Daisy was found in field by a man who believed she was "days away from death". The man brought Daisy to his home and intended to keep her until he saw one of the "Lost Cat" flyers and called the number. On December 14, 2009, Daisy officially returned home. She weighed only five pounds (and was probably 3 or 4 pounds when she was first found) but was noticeably more grateful and affectionate.

Kidney infection
In June 2015, Daisy lost her appetite and began to limp. She was diagnosed with a possible kidney infection by the North Main Animal Hospital. She was prescribed with injections of saline under her skin to "flush things out" and treat the infection. By July, Daisy had almost completely recovered.

Death
On March 10, 2017, sometime between 4:00 and 7:00 AM, Daisy's back legs suddenly stopped working and she started to meow incessantly. At the North Main Animal Hospital, the veterinarian said that Daisy had been paralyzed by a sudden clot in a blood vessel, which possibly appeared due to an un-diagnosed heart problem. The vet claimed that there was no treatment, and that the most humane method would be to put her down.

Around 10:15 AM, Daisy received euthanasia and died at age 12. She was cremated but her ashes were not kept.

The next cat, Jinx, was adopted on May 30, 2017.

Trivia

 * Daisy was owned for about 12 years and 6 months. She became the longest-owned pet in 2007 (surpassing Lucy's record of 3 years). In March 2020, Lila broke Daisy's record as the longest-owned pet.
 * Daisy's signature color was a light pink. Her collar had light pink hearts over a cream white background whiler her ID tag was a darker fuchsia pink.
 * A memorial portrait of Daisy of was drawn on a chalkboard soon after her death (pictured left). The portrait remained untouched for several months.