This could be a long blog, but I'll keep it short so you'll read it.
My 21 year old cat had to be put to sleep this morning. My mom was the brave one, holding him in her arms fighting back tears as they put him to sleep then and there.
I named him Hugsby when I was two years old, after a character in a kid's book I loved but was unable to yet pronounce the name of.
Hugsby was only 2 or 3 weeks old at the time- you're not supposed to be able to take a kitten from its mother until about 8 weeks, but my parents really wanted it and the lady sold it anyway.
Hugsby, a pure bred seal point siamese with blue eyes the color of the sky- just look at the top picture on my blog taken just a few months ago- was so tiny, he could fit into my two year old hand and had to be fed with an eye dropper. He came to us with his older half brother Andy, a black and white cat, who was more or less my brother's cat (until a few years later when he ate tacks off our bulletin board and punctured his internal organs) while hugsby was MY BABY.
Hugsby had been with our family through so much. Through separation, divorce, new cats, a gigantic move to the suburbs, through graduations, and through marriage, and even my pregnancy :) Even those visitors outside of our family couldnt deny how special of a cat he was.
What did he love most?
- Of course, ATTENTION. The most vocal species of cat, he could send a profound meow throughout the house in the middle of the night calling someone to come pick him up two floors down in the basement. He LOVEd to be pet, to sit on any book you were reading or any open lap.
-HEAT. He loved lying in the sun and getting so close to the fireplace you'd think he'd burn his fur off, too hot for us to touch
- FOOD. Now food doesnt just mean normal cat food, it can also include grass, artificial plants, human meat, etc...He would eat anything, even things that made him throw up :)- thanks mom for always cleaning it up!
-Other cats. Hugsby has always been the KING in terms of cat territory. Both of our female cats would sleep with him but not without him or with the other unless he was there. If hugsby called, Lucky and Freeby would come running.
-ME. Hugsby loved me. Yeah, i provided all of the above, but he was there for me in my worst moments : crying in my room alone, worried, angry, or lonely. He knew. Sometimes i think he was holding me rather than me holding him. He was also there with me in my best- even got to meet my husband...I thought about putting him in a tux and bringing him to the wedding, but Melville or Hanso would have probably thought that was over the top :)
Our remarkable Creator made a remarkable cat who has returned to the ground today. I think the blue of his eyes will be added to the sky and the warmth of his fur to the bright sun. I think God wept a little today as He held a tired, old, suffering cat ...I dont know what happens to animals when they die, but I do know that they must be loved and cherished by God if we as people can love and cherish them so much.
I hope some little girl is receiving a new kitten today that will be as much a friend to her.
Just as God takes away the first "baby" and love I ever had, He bring a new one to Keith and I in just a few days! I think HUGSBY Jagger would be a nice name for a new boy or girl dont you ? :)
