12/30/2011 (12:58 pm)
Eulogy for Bobby
Robert, my ginger tabby, was euthanized on Wednesday, December 28, 2012. We first met on February 13, 1994, when he was a stray at the SPCA. The moment I saw him, I knew that he was something special. Truth be told, I spent soem time trying to decide to take him or Rat home. It really was not a choice, but Bob was so stand-offish with his fur fluffed and a bit grumpy looking! The volunteer at the SPCA told me it was 2-for-1, so I took them both! And all of our lives were better because of it.
While this is a sad occasion, I try to remind myself that if any cat ever used up his nine lives it was certainly Bob. Over his 20-some years on this earth, Bob has survived: living on the streets (before we met), neutering (1994), a spine and tail abcess (1995), Grrrly’s kitten-adolescent years (1996-1999), crossing 98 avenue (1998), escaping Mickey’s jaws of death (1999), 3 month walkabout (2001), melanin-tainted pet food scandal (2007), tooth surgery and months of tube feeding (2008), the ventian blind cord (2009), and MeiMei’s (aka ‘The Evil’) kitten-adolescent years (2009-2011), and more.
Bob loved to hunt – birds, mice and especially foam soccer balls. In the evening, Bob would hunt out all of the foamy soccer balls he could find (ok, he had over 10) and bring them to us by the couch. At night, he would bring them all back upstairs to the closed bedroom door. I am not sure if he meant this as an offering or as a warning. His favourite food was chicken; when I say this, understand that if there was chicken being cooked or warmed up, Bob was there stealing stuff off of your plate.
Bob has been slowing down gracefully over the last few years, but has always been playful and curious, has kept the neighbourhood cats running (even this past summer), and could always defend himself against “The Evil“. We kept track of all the things he enjoyed doing, such as being combed, scratching the old window, peeing outside, rolling in catnip, chasing balls down the stairs, cuddling, eating chicken, jumping up on the counter to look for chicken, sleeping in the sunlight, drinking fresh cold water, sitting on his chair, laying on shoes, walking the perimeter of the house, running to the back garden, strolling in long grass, chewing long grass and oats, climbing the baby gates to the basement, playing with feather toys, being the first to the new litter, crushing the cat mint, playing with the crunchy moth, hunting mice by the compost, rubbing the honeysuckle stump, rubbing the valerian root ball, sleeping between M and me.
We will miss him so much.
