Good Friend

It was about 12 years ago I met one of the best friends Jane and I have ever had. I was walking out of our garage and out ran a little black and white kitten. I had never really been very fond of cats but there was something about this one. Maybe it was the fact that our dachshund had died about a month before and I was longing for the love of a pet. Well the little bugger hung around but would always give you a wide path and would not come to you. So that summer I made it my task to see if I could get the little thing to eat from my hand. I used hot dogs to get his attention. I broke off a small piece and threw it to him. My aim wasn't very good as he would not get within 25 feet of me. He noticed the morsel and ate it. It took me a good two weeks but I finally got him to eat from my hand. We thought an outside cat wouldn't be that bad. So he lived under the back porch and when Jane and I would sit in the hot tub he would walk the edge around it. One night he came bearing a gift a dead mouse. He laid it on the deck next to the hot tub and looked as it to say aren't you proud of me. Then he played with it throwing it in the air. Finally one day he disappeared and we thought oh well he found a better place to live. It was about a week later and our daughter, Heather yelled out when we were eating dinner the cat is back. Sure enough looking through the dinning room window the that face. A couple of days later he must have met the local tom cat as he was beat up pretty good. It was then we decided he was to become an inside cat. We brought him in and we did not know if he was going to make it. He slept for two days but he pulled through. He went to the vet and was fixed and had his front claws taken care of. He became Kitty, I know not much of a name but that is what I named him. He adapted to the house like a fish takes to water. He had a few health scares but pulled through. I guess this last bought was too much as his kidneys. He went to the vet on Thursday and everything went down hill. The vet thought he was going to pull through until last night. Today we rubbed his ears and scratched his back and told him good bye. You could see it in his eyes as he looked at me as to say please dad make the suffering stop. It wasn't a hard decision after we visited with him. The vet agreed that it was time but when it came time for it to end Jane and I thought we could stay with him but we just couldn't do it. So he died without us there to rub his ears and scratch his back for one last time. It will be hard with him being around and sleeping on my lap while I watch TV. We know he is in a better place without the pain and suffering. I know God must have a place for loyal pets as how can they not have a special place when they bring such joy and happiness to people. Jane and I have some time to decide if we want to bury him here in the garden or out at our country property. I know he is gone and will it really help closure for Jane and I? The other option is to have the vet bury him out on a farm in the country. Either way we will have a memorial for him on the patio.

I will try to post a picture with this blog entry for all to see what a great friend he was to Jane and I.

Love to "Kitty" you are already so missed by Mommy and Daddy.