Ottawa’s Parliament Hill was once famous for something rather unusual for a political institution of its stature: its colony of cats.
The Parliament Hill cat colony was closed down in 2013, with the few remaining cats adopted by volunteers.
Longest lived among them was a cat named Coal, cared for by Danny Taurozzi.
Coal has been struggling with cancer for the past year, but he was lovingly cared for and received top notch veterinary care. Sadly, there are no miracles when it comes to the combination of cancer and age: Coal’s condition deteriorated and Coal eventually succumbed to the disease yesterday, July 8, 2025.
May his little soul rest in peace. I daresay Canada’s capital was a better place while the country’s parliament was guarded by its feline sentries.