"Dead Cats" by nicolaitan

Xerxes was 17 lbs. of smart tomcat. Strikingly attractive, his red markings resembled snakeskin and were completely symmetric. Living in a flat without direct sunshine, he satisfied his needs by spending hours with his head under a lampshade. A remarkably affectionate cat, he was also smart enough to learn the advantages of a bathtub drain versus the litter box for certain bodily functions. While this did not please overnight female visitors, it certainly impressed me. Sorely missed.

Chloe, a purebred Persian, was the progeny of a family of grand championship Persian cats. We acquired her on the cheap because a kink in her tail prevented her from being shown in cat shows or being used for breeding. She was a true cautionary tale against the dangers of inbreeding.
She was purchased to match a fabric sample for the chair and matched so perfectly that occasionally visitors sat on her. Perpetually afraid of almost everything, much of her life was spent cowering under beds and other furniture. She was poor at interpersonal relationships and dumb as a brick. Her least endearing habit was peeing on the tile floor next to the litter box and then kicking the litter out of the box to create ammonia-scented mud. But she sure was beautiful. RIP.

The matching chair and the cat, or is it the chair and the matching cat?