Ah, Gin, 17 years is a pretty good run. I’ll do my best to hang on to some of the funnies you did (mostly because I am going to cheat and list them here because I am under no delusions that my memory is going to get better as I age). I’m sure your life isn’t unlike most other cats but it’s the one that I was there for.
You had the misfortune of getting hit by a vehicle when young but thanks to that peg-legged, blond haired rogue pup that we all knew as Dusty, you made it through when he drug you up to the house and laid with you in the cold until I found you and rushed you to the vet for a very expensive weekend emergency vet bill. Thankfully, your good luck extended into the evening because I had no money to pay that vet bill. So I did what every self-respecting pet owner does: I went to play poker. I hoped for the best as I channeled ‘I’m playing for the cat fund’ all night and caught an unbelievable run of cards. Thank you to Mitch, Meltz, Will, Len, Johnny Benz, Mills Lane and anyone else who may have been so foolhardy as to sit down at a table with a guy that clearly had Karma on his side of the deck.
I’ll never forget having to administer laxatives to you and the unique experience of having to literally squeeze the s___ out of you….but that part, I would be OK forgetting.
When you recovered, you paid that pup back for his sentinel behavior by saddling him up and riding on his neck when you were feeling frisky or by trying to wrestle with him….apparently oblivious to the fact that he had 70 pounds on you and routinely killed groundhogs with a flick of his head (what the heck were you thinking?). Tell him we all say hello when you run into him in Four Legged Afterlife Land.
You had that knack for knowing that the owner of the house where you resided when you were young was not the biggest of cat fans. You did however, figure out that he was also not fond of mice and other rodents either (especially when they ate his seeds in the greenhouse) so you would line up your evenings worth of bounty at the back step for him to review in the morning before taking them away to dispose of them in whatever manner you did thus garnering “at least you earn your keep” status.
You had such a lust for adventure (or at least that is what I had to assume when we received the phone call from a greenhouse wholesale customer from Maryland stating that he had received you as a parting gift in the back of his truck and that you were quite content with your new residence but he would rather not have another mouth to feed)
You were not exactly at your most warm and fuzzy when anyone intruded into the back porch which you mistakenly had assumed was for your roaming only. We all bear the scars of your ‘playful’ swipes (playful = full on bear hug of leg or arm with claws and fangs out). It was obviously poor planning on our part that we placed the laundry facilities in that same area. Lesson learned.
You made a tremendous leap of faith by pulling up your comfy roots at the farm and moving with me to West Chester and apartment living, where you kept me on my toes by escaping continuously and graciously finding a nearby tree in which to reside until rescued. You also survived numerous keg-driven frivolity and the occasional roomate who thought it would be a good idea to share their herbaceous goodness with you.
You carried on jumping from life station to life station, town to town, state to state with me, graciously accepting all of the new additions with a smile on your face. The leg humping demon dog, the floppy eared cat-harasser, that frail Jersey kitten that has since outgrown you by at least two times and abused you on a playful, daily basis, one curly headed toddler who didn’t understand that your aging body was fragile and lastly a tiny baby boy that thankfully you will not have to endure any tail-pulling from.
So I’ll just say thanks. For all of those memories, and the purring belly naps of our long ago yesteryear, and for a lifetime of faithfully reminding me when the water dish was empty and for making each and every one of your 9 lives a memorable one.