Our little household suffered a devastating loss yesterday.
Way back when, 17 years ago to be precise, VampireLover gave me a very special gift for my first birthday as a husband; a Maine Coon kitty, barely two-years-old at that time. Frisky – soon to be renamed Felix by yours truly – set off running the second we set her down on the floor of our first apartment.
And she kept going until the age of nineteen; cats don’t normally live that long, but Felix never cared much for being normal.
- She would retrieve a stuffed bee from the back of the couch, drag it down the hall and leave it in our doorway – every single night.
- Playing in the hallway was a nightly routine, until someone would walk by and send her racing back to the apartment; the wrong one!
- The carpet installer was pouring glue when Felix decided to walk on by. She’d take two steps, shake her paw to wipe the glue away and keep going!
- She was fond of sleeping in boxes, Pepsi cases, laundry baskets, wherever she could get her kitty butt squeezed into.
- Our first Christmas tree became one big cat toy. She’d dive, hit a glass ball which would shatter against the wall and then circle back to strike again. She became tangled in the lights once and boy did the kitty expletives and fur fly!
- Her jaw would shake like a bobble head when she spotted a bird through the patio door.
- We came home one night to find the remainder of a bag of catnip strewn across the kitchen floor – placing it on top of the fridge for safekeeping was a futile gesture.
I could go on, but how do you summarize a life in a single post?
We eventually acquired a baby girl and two dogs, but Felix took it all in stride. This year she made her home on our portable dishwasher and took to singing in the middle of the night. That didn’t go over all that well with the rest of us, but we took it in stride.
What else could we do? She was family.
You've Been Hooked! 
Awww…she was beautiful. Sorry for your loss my friend, hugs to you xoxox
Hugs received and appreciated!
Awwwwwwwww….I am so sorry.
My cat had to be put down at nineteen too.
I cried like a baby!
I don’t blame you, Granny!
I’m so sorry for your loss, I know how devastating it can be to lose a pet member of the family. Felix was a beautiful cat, and quite a character by the sound of it. But then again, isn’t that what we would expect from a pet member of the Hook family? 😉 Our hearts are with you.
She definitely was a full-fledged member of The Hook’s clan! Thank you for your good wishes.
I share your pain but not so much, yet. I have lost family pets before but I was younger and not old enough to comprehend. Now, I still live home for the time being and I have a cream colored mutt who is closing on 10, plus a very well (over well) fed cat who is almost 9. I don’t know what I will do if I have to leave them behind when I move, or when they are gone.
Losing something that is part of your everyday life is painful regardless the length of life. You come to rely on the comfort and security of it being there all the time. Felix was part of that. All of your lives will change, even if minimally, to adjust to the gap the loss will form within you all.
My condolences are yours and my thoughts are with you in your time of hurt. Be well.
Thank you, my new blogging friend.
What a touching story. Being an owner of two cats myself I definitely don’t look forward to the day when all I’ll have left are my memories of their funny feline ways. Damn, I need to have a petting session with them now 🙂
Go to it, Julio!
Awwwwww – how amazing was Felix !!!
I know it is hard to lose a pet – especially one that has been such a part of your life for so long – but I would rather suffer the pain of the loss than never have the pure joy of loving them. It sounds to me like Felix was happy and loved – for all of her long life, and that she was in good health. It’s all any of us can ask.
Mourn her certainly, but celebrate her as well, and celebrate your great fortune in having had her at all.
(((hugs))) to you Hook…
Words to live by. Thank you, Jo.
You’re more than welcome. And I believe you’re right in another comment to not rush into getting another animal. While it is true that having a new (and often young) pet can keep you busy – I think that Felix needs to be grieved for. Her life was so entwined with your family’s – and no other animal should be considered a replacement. If the time comes for you to open your home to another, you will know it to be right. And it won’t be to replace Felix, but it will be because of her – her legacy of love in your lives, that allows you to open your hearts once again.
(((hugs)))
Jo
That was beautiful, Jo. Thanks.
I’m so sorry, Hook.
There’s no way to summarize a life in a post, but saying something–no matter how slight a shadow of the overall good–helps alight the flame of memory.
You have a wonderful way of putting things, my friend. Thank you.
Sorry, man. I’ve lost a few pets in my lifetime and have a beloved one that’s not getting any younger. So, I know the pain and feeling of loss, especially over one that’s been around for such a long time.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you guys!
They’ve been received and are greatly appreciated, Julio.
I’m sorry for your loss.
Thank you, Kat.
Sorry to hear that. But it looks like Felix had a blessed long life with a loving family. What more could a kitty ask for? 🙂
What else, indeed?
So sorry for your loss…
I’m still suffering from the loss of a mother board…and temporarily using a 32 bit dinosaur from the closet…So, I probably wont be trying to post a lot for a while.. Though I will try and keep coming around for a great read.
Bless You
paul
Thanks, Paul. I hope your bridge to the internet gets repaired soon.
Sorry for the loss
Your cat will always be beautiful
Very true. Thanks.
That’s the biggest drawback about pets– they never live long enough. Especially when they’re big fluffy kitties, and even when they live to 19.
She exceeded her life expectancy, which is all we could ever ask.
I am sorry for the loss and absence you now feel… they are definitely family, our pets. Their antics become part of our daily routines, even providing comedy relief when we need it, comfort in times when that is whats best. I’ve had a few major losses, and years later, I still think about them. But you posted in the right spirit, and prove to be the pillar of strength for your family: remembering all of the good and silly and cute ways of Felix the Cat in your home and lives.
Thanks, we’ll be doing just that in the hard days to come.
Sorry for your loss buddy. It is really tough to lose a pet…..I have always considered them family members. My parents just had to put their cat down after 15 years. I lost my dog of 16 years about 7 years ago. I had to stay home from work that day…could tell it was coming & wanted to be with her at the end. She was 1/2 collie & 1/2 german shepard. Wonderful dog. What always helps me is I always go get a new one as soon as I can. Once again, sorry.
Thanks. We’ll stick with our two dogs and my daughter’s fish for now. Felix was irreplaceable.
My sincere condolences for your loss 😦
Thank you, Cindy.
I am sorry for your loss, Hook 😦
Thanks, Kim.
I love cats and I thought this was sweet. Looks like she had a long and happy life 🙂
She certainly did.
I am very sorry about your Cat
Hook I know how difficult it is to
lose a sweet pet 🙂
cats do like a good sing-song Hook
mine used to have the most wonderful
singing Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeow
during the day but never at night time
so yours must have been a night Owl
I mean a night Cat 🙂
Have a wickedly fine
Halloween weekend 🙂
Androgoth
Thanks for the prose and sympathy, Androgoth.
I’m so sorry for you loss, as a fellow cat lover I have oddles of sympathy. Cats are such original, cunning and crazy creatures, and they’re a total part of the family. She looks gorgeous.
She was a great cat – inside and out. Thanks, Aimee.
I feel sad now…hope you are well.
I’m sad but grateful for having known Felix at all.
I’m sorry for your loss.
That hurts.
We’ll survive by remembering how lucky we were to have our time with her in the first place.
Great post, Hook. My condolences to your family. Felix reminds my of a tabby our family once had, Nipper. She was a year younger than I was and I remember when I was maybe three-years-old trimming her whiskers (I cannot remember why I did that) and she didn’t fight and didn’t bear a grudge. She lived to be eighteen, the Queen of the house.
Sounds all-too familiar….
sorry you lost your kitty hook they become part of the family i know hugs jen
Hugs help – thanks, Jennygoth.
Awww 😦 Sorry to hear about your kitty
Thanks, Sharon.
19 years! Well done Felix. Probably in cat heaven on a soft pillow with a bowl of cream on one side and a plate of tuna on the other.
But I know he’ll be missed.
Absolutely.
I’m so sorry for your loss. About 2 months ago, my household’s 4-year-old lovable lump of fur went missing, and we haven’t seen him since. Chris was fond of boxes, and he did that half-meow jaw thing at birds too. He’s survived by his sister, Izzy.
At least the bloodline continues. Thanks for the visit, my friend.
Great post 🙂
Thank you, Jake. Felix was a special character.