You were rescued from a cold winter’s night, found eating garbage, by the Minister and his wife in my parents’ old home town. You cowered in fear whenever anyone came close.
You were beautiful and had the most gorgeous green eyes.
I won’t lie, your brother Pal, he hated you at first when you came to live with us.
For the first 48 hours he was so angry. He’d scare you into hiding and would not let you leave the safety of your hiding space. He hissed and he growled. I almost returned you, fearing that Pal would never accept you into our lives.
Quickly, Pal realized that you were no threat to him. You were always submissive, never an alpha cat. You did nothing unless Pal did it first. From eating, to jumping up on the furniture, to stalking birds. You followed Pal’s lead always. He taught you not to be afraid. He was your big brother.
Pal loved cardboard boxes.
I’ll never forget the day you decided to chew on Pal’s box, I laughed and laughed, as Pal slept on obliviously.
Eventually, you claimed the box for yourself.
You and Pal were best friends and brothers. Always together.
Very unexpectedly, we lost Pal. He passed away with what was suspected to be a massive heart attack. No warning at all. He hadn’t been sick and had even been to the vet’s the week before for a check up. He curled up into his favourite sleeping place, a laundry basket, and passed away.
I cried and you cried for weeks. Neither of us expecting to lose Pal so soon and so unexpectedly. Hearing your meows of sorrow and loss, broke my heart.
No longer having the alpha cat to tell you what to do, you became a Momma’s Boy. You found your voice and chatted constantly. You were never far from my side as I worked.
You were my quilt inspector and stole bobbins and thread spools to bat around on the hardwood floor.
You played hide ‘n’ seek every single day. But you always hid in the same place and would give yourself away by your loud purring. It was your morning ritual.
You loved having visitors and would run to greet them in the hallway. You loved your Aunties Julia, Gailene, Viviane and Caitlin best. They knew the minute they sat down, you would be on their lap.
You welcomed Slade into our home and taught him not to be afraid and how to play. You grieved when we lost him 2.5 years later.
You dreamed of catching the pigeons that landed on our balcony.
You loved to play with your feather toy and spent hours chasing the little red dot of your laser pen. Milk-flavoured Temptations were your favourite. You were fascinated by water. An ice cube in your water dish would entertain you for 15 minutes.
You loved to be outside for hours.
You were a very good boy, sweet natured, loving and obedient, for the most part. You wouldn’t eat human food, but that didn’t stop you from trying to steal my dinner. A left-up toilet seat made your day and a watery mess for your mom to clean up. You had a gentle soul and touched the hearts of many.
Dr. Black and Dr. Sine from the Centretown Veterinary Hospital tried so hard to save you this past month. It wasn’t until after you had passed away, that we discovered you had cancer everywhere. How you managed to survive so long is a mystery.
You were Dan, Danny and Daniel, but most of all you were your Momma’s baby boy.
Thank you for your love and sweet kitty kisses. Rest in peace my baby.
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