Goodbye Old Friend

After 14 years of caring for this old codger, he has finally passed. The stress of the move from California to Idaho, not to mention having to be cooped up in the laundry room because his incontinence combined with an all-carpeted rental don't mix. His body has succumbed to renal failure and it's been sad to watch. I was hoping it was "just stress" and that I could help him get better with regular outside walks and adventures, but this is a real example of how stress kills.

This may sound completely trivial considering there are people dying or have had died or even with other things our family has gone through, but this incident just brings all those thoughts and feelings to the surface for me. Anything I have suppressing either knowingly or otherwise have now thrust upward and the stress of holding those back has been released.

Gus may have been irritating, scary, annoying, and smelly at times but he loved me and me alone, and I him. He was a tiny 1.1 pounder when he finally became mine. People mistook him for a bird once, sitting on my shoulder! But despite interactions others may have had with him, he was sweet with me. Oh there were some scary times between he and I, he was a feral cat after all, but when he was scared or scared others he came running to me to comfort him.

He was a good snuggler...when he wanted to be. He was silly and liked to play as a kitten would even up to the day we left for Idaho. He was smart and fetched like a dog, came when I called his name, and knew that even when he was mad I was still the boss.

Anyway, it may be silly to cry or be sad that such a creature is no longer on the Earth, but not for me. I loved him and I will miss him.