Our Cat Died Today

[Gawain 0]

This is the cat that changed my opinion about cats (I'm a dog person).

This guy was a rescue, no more than five or six years old when he passed. It happened right in front of my wife's eyes while I was talking on the phone with her. He clutched, fell to his side, and apparently went into cardiac arrest. The vet gathered, based on her recount, that a blood clot caused a stroke or sudden heart attack.

His name was Tabi (which means travel, or the socks a traveler wears in Japanese). He greeted you in the morning, when you came home, enjoyed all the "cat" stuff, but strangely didn't impose himself. He could just hang out too.

It's a story too as to how he became ours:

My wife already had one cat, and had recently (this is 2005) had another pass away. One day on my way to work (Army, Fort Campbell, in the middle of train-ups to deploy to Iraq), she sees this cat. Understand, that my wife is a full-blown cat person. "Honey, look at the cat!" She declares.
"That's great. Please leave him alone, he probably belongs to somebody." I said, knowing that at the end of the day, I would come home very tired, hungry and angry at that same time. I come home, as expected, hungry, tired, angry, and am greeted with, "Honey, see, he's friendly." Watching him rollover and do all the cute "cat" stuff that makes "cat people" go ga-ga.

The next day, I'm on my way out the door, "Honey, there he is again. I wonder if he's hungry." She says.
I respond, "Do NOT feed the cat. He's not ours, and you said you did not want a second cat." Which is true. I come home at the end of that day, hungry, tired, angry (as usual).
"Honey, look. I wanted to just check and see if he was hungry, so I gave him some food to test." She explains cheerily.
"You fed him." I said.
"No, I was just seeing if he was hungry." She responds in her own perfect rationale...somehow I miss the point.
"Stop feeding the cat." I say.

The fall of 2005 in western Kentucky was getting really, really, cold. Lows at night in the teens. A couple days pass, I come home one afternoon, hungry, tired, angry, and on the patio outside our apartment, I see a make-shift fort made of Xerox boxes, stuffed with warm blankets.
"It's a bed for the cat, in case he gets cold. Do you think he'll use it?" She asks.
"Of course he's going to use it." I declare, noting that she hasn't stopped feeding him either.

For the next few days, this cat is greeting me when I'm getting out of the car, and prancing back to my wife, her food, attention, and super-fortified-warm-Xerox-box-fort-thing.

Okay, I admit it. He's got character, and he found a sucker. But I remember what my wife told me (yes, men do listen, more often than we get credit for) and I reason with her about that. "It's okay, I don't need another cat." Meanwhile, we have one cat indoors, and one cat living outdoors in stupid-cold temperatures and winds.

I had to put my foot down, "You cannot let the cat continue to live in a box like that. You either adopt him now, or I'm going to take him to the pound."
"What will happen at the pound?" She asks.
"They'll try to adopt him." I say.
"For how long?"
"Usually a week or so."
"Then what?"
"They'll put him down."

It was the quickest, easiest decision any woman has ever made, about anything, ever.

That was the beginning of what would be only a four year adventure for this feline. He encountered some health issues, but we were fortunate enough to treat them, and he was doing very well all things considered. He handled the trip across the country to California like a champ, and had a huge house to romp around in out here.

I'm truly saddened to see him go.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[LongWayToFall 0]

Sorry about your cat. It's rare that the cat chooses you, and not the other way around. Thanks for your story

[ridestrong 1]

Man that sucks... I have a similar adoption story of a cat my old roommate and his girlfriend found by a dumpster. Couldn't have been more than a couple weeks old. Long story short I ended up with her... only now she is 13 y/o. Never cared much for cats before either, but I'll miss her one day.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[skymama 37]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I've had cats in my home for just about my whole life. Some people think they are aloof, but they really do have so much personality.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[Shell666 0]

I am SO sorry for your loss. Lost a pet recently. It's never easy.

And I was the opposite of you ... wasn't a dog person, loved cats. Ended up with a dog. 'nuff said (or 'ruff said )

Pets have a way of getting under your skin .... and into your heart.
Tabi looks like a doll. Glad he had you and your wife to take care of him. He needed you. And you needed him.

'Shell

[skyjumpenfool 2]

Sorry to hear about your Kitty! Good vibes coming your way....... Hmmmmmm..... Hmmmmmmm......

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[skybill 22]

Hi GW,
Sorry to hear about your kitty. As I'm typing this, Pumkin is crawling around my keyboard. She, Anglefood McSpade, Lucky, Jethro and Chucky Blue are somewhere near by. They were all "dump jobs" which we either found or they showed up at the back door. Funny how that goes.

Blue skyz to Tabi.

SCR-2034, SCS-680

III%,
Deli-out

[The_Don 0]

I hate cats.

But that was one VERY smart cat. He knew who would take him in. Can cats feel vibes? Good on ya man, I can relate.

I miss lumpy every day.

I am NOT being loud.
I'm being enthusiastic!

[1969912 0]

, but he had a good life with you.

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[warpedskydiver 0]

That cat may have been one of your reincarnated friends, things work in strange ways.

[riddler 0]

Quote

Some people think they are aloof

I don't think they're aloof - I think they just haven't been domesticated as long as dogs. For well over 15,000 years, we've bred wolves to become dogs that are friendly to humans. Cats have only been domesticated, from the african wildcat, for about 9,000 years, so they haven't had a chance to become as friendly, in general terms, to people. Combine that with less rigorous breeding for specific traits. Well, that, and they display their affections in an entirely different manner.

It's all about how humans manipulate the animals. Which is another reason I don't have pets

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[efs4ever 3]

I love dogs, but I'm a cat person. Mainly because you can leave em alone and go away for a LONG time. I'll miss my Maggot when that day comes.

I hope you can rescue another one as a replacement.

Russell M. Webb D 7014
Attorney at Law
713 385 5676
https://www.tdcparole.com

[masterblaster72 0]

I love cats. Sorry for your loss - Tabi looks beautiful in those pictures.

Be humble, ask questions, listen, learn, follow the golden rule, talk when necessary, and know when to shut the fuck up.

[mrwrong 0]

Sorry for your loss

“The sum of intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing.” - George Bernard Shaw
He who dies with the most toys, wins.....
dudeist skydiver # 19515
Buy quality and cry once!

[skycop 0]

Sorry man,

I have a cat that is 13 and he is my bud, his health is declining so I'm dreading the day.
Sounds like yours was very special.
Blue skies

"Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

[jceman 1]

I know it's rough to lose a furball friend. Sounds like y'all did well for each other.

[airdvr 210]

Sucks. Amazing how quickly our animals become family members and losng them is never easy. Sorry for your loss.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[micduran 0]

heartbreaking. It sounds you, your wife and the cat benefited during his few years.

Be patient with the faults of others; they have to be patient with yours.

[shah269 0]

I'm so sorry for your loss.
I have two. Both were saved from the pound.
One doesn't care if I live or die...but likes to check up on me and the other....she associates food with love.
They are strange creatures cats, neither on this side or the next and have an amazing way of working their way into our hearts.
I'm so sorry for your loss.

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[ILUVCHUTERS 1]

I'm sorry about your cat.

[matthewcline 0]

Sorry for your loss brother.

Matt

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[robskydiv 0]

Nice looki'n cat Max. Sorry for the loss.

[rehmwa 2]

Too bad about your pet. Sounds like it worked great for you and your family. It's sad to lose a good pet.

Go get another one.

That's how it works.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[freethefly 6]

Sorry about the loss of your buddy.
My good bud Charlemagne is getting on to 14yo. He most likely does not have long to go. On the other hand, there is Gaucho he is about 2yo... he'll be raising hell for years to come

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[guppie01 0]

What a beautiful cat Max... I'm so sorry for the loss of Tabi!

Much love to you and your wife!

g

"Let's do something romantic this Saturday... how bout we bust out the restraints?"
Raddest Ho this side of Jersey #1 - MISS YOU
OMG, is she okay?