SONG CREDIT:
"Autumn Breeze" (James PJ Scraggins)
In Loving Memory
Chaka Nadine Lyndyn Herrera
Sunrise: September 1, 2007 | Sunset: January 6, 2025
Chaka was born on Saturday, September 1, 2007, in the Cypress Hills Projects in the East New York section of Brooklyn. She was rescued by the Brooklyn Animal Care Center (who gave her the name "Lyndyn" for the street where she was found) on November 24, 2007, and was adopted by Coach Lou and Mz. Doc on the same day along with Rufus, her brother from another mother! She got the name "Chaka" from her Auntie Reese and "Nadine" from Coach Lou & Mz. Doc.
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The shelter had warned that it would not be a good idea to adopt Rufus and Chaka together. Rufus was a feral cat and was considered mild mannered and withdrawn, whereas Chaka was immediately classified as hyper. It was said that the two would not bond together or would team up together against their human "pawrents". Undaunted, both cats were adopted on the same day, and it was Chaka who helped Rufus quickly acclimate to their new home. Chaka was a beautiful Calico cat who enjoyed the humorous distinction of being both bow-legged and pigeon-toed in her hind legs.
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Chaka was the energy and mischief of the Herrera home - often being the one who started the trouble that Rufus ultimately joined in on. She was notorious for moving/knocking down the Christmas tree every year and for removing the ornaments. She loved to play with cat toys (particularly balls with bells in them), as well as toys on strings. Later in life, she played with laser lights and with shadows from sunrays and icecubes. She had an affinity for cat videos, especially ones with fish and like all cats, enjoyed playing with crinkly paper and empty boxes. She always enjoyed hearing Mz. Doc yell, "GET IT" during their daily games of fetch. Chaka would, in fact, never get it.
She was quick to run into an open closet or cabinet and made opening the front door stressful, as she would always try and escape, running top speed down the hallways which were very long. Chaka was also well known by building maintenance and delivery folks, whom she often snuck out with through open bags. Once during covid and one of Coach Lou's non-life-threatening emergency trips to the hospital, she snuck into a paramedic's bag and wasn't discovered until they pulled up to the hospital. Of course, the ambulance had to bring her back.
In addition to her battles with Rufus (usually over a box or Mz. Doc's lap), she loved chasing Coach Lou through the house and sitting next to him to watch Tom & Jerry, basketball and football. She was also an avid "lap" cat, often sitting on Mz. Doc's lap for hours at a time usually listening to jazz music. She faithfully watched all of the Charlie Brown cartoons during the major holidays as well as Sunday morning worship services. Chaka and her brother would routinely wake Mz. Doc up on Saturday mornings at 5am to feed them, before settling down to watch their Auntie Reese's live Facebook broadcast, "Solace Saturday" at 8am. She also faithfully disrupted many of Mz. Doc's Zoom meetings by putting her nose or some other body part against the camera which often got Mz. Doc out of the meeting.
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As with Coach Lou, Mz. Doc rarely called Chaka by her name, but no matter what she was called, she always responded. Her names included "Dunk-Dunk", "Monkey", "Mama-Dootz", "Stinkabutt", "Toots", "Chakie" and "Man" (the name given to her by Coach Lou). Usually understanding by the tone or the name she was called, she always responded quickly with deep purring and playfulness. Interestingly, anytime Chaka would do something wrong, she would go put herself in the corner on time out, earning her the name "Hezekiah".
Thankfully, Mz. Doc and Coach Lou recorded many of their antics from an early age. Some acts of mischief and scuffles with Rufus are documented on their Instagram page @wearetheherreracats and these videos bring the family and those who knew her a sense of joy. Once Coach Lou made his transition, Mz. Doc decided to memorialize the family as logo assets for SoulPhamm.
An integral part of the Herrera clan, Chaka brought immense love, joy, mischief and laughter into their lives. She is deeply missed.
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​​At the age of 17, cradled in Mz. Doc's arms and listening to her favorite lullaby song, "Autumn Breeze" by James PJ Spraggins, Chaka made her transition on Monday, January 6th at 8:07pm, leaving Mz. Doc, Rufus and the rest of us to celebrate her life and legacy! Mz. Doc believes that when Chaka closed her eyes in her arms, she opened them again in Coach Lou's. Rest easy Dunk-Dunk!