RIP, vincent

[piranha]

he had lived in the neighbourhood for quite some time already. when i first saw him, the missing ear was already an old, healed wound. he was always at it with "roundface", a large, dark, aggressive tabby, who disappeared after a while.

shortly thereafter, roughly 4 years ago, vincent settled in around the house. much growling and tussling resulted, but as it turned out, he was never the aggressor, despite being an adult tomcat. he was BFF's with bear, another feral tom, who was only with us a short time. i was joking that at least we didn't have to neuter him.

he was shy, and sweet, and when he finally let us touch him, he was so eager for being petted. soon he lived under the old table that sits under the paramour's window. for the last couple of years we made him a comfy bed under there since he wouldn't really stay inside even when it was crappy outside. saoba named him, a brilliant choice -- everybody always laughed at that.

not so long ago, he did decide to come inside. he wasn't fully house trained, and had the occasional accident, so we just placed more litter boxes around the house. he really liked to go into my room and sleep in the middle of my bed.

that's where he was last night. just skin and bones now, he didn't want to eat even the treats he used to go nuts over, and i knew it wouldn't be long anymore. he crawled up onto the pillow, against my head and for a little while, in the morning, laid on my ear and purred and drooled. he was kinda smelly, but i didn't care. a feral tomcat purred in my ear. i felt honoured. i have not done much with my life, but i made things a little better for the cats i've met who'd been cast aside.

some time today he passed. he had settled under the computer table between the paramour and my work stations, where we both sat; it's a low, small space with humming machinery around; perfect for a cat to curl up. i noticed he hadn't come out in a long time, not even to drink. i didn't want to look.

it's so hard to lose them.



may there be sunshine where he is now. he loved the sunlight like no other cat of ours. even in his last days, he'd slowly move outside and stay there while the sun was up.

i'm gonna miss him.

Comments

[surpassingly]

It is so very very hard -- my condolences. ;_; He sounds so sweet, and I am glad you took such good care of him to the very end.

[piranha]

thank you for your good wishes. i am really glad now that i let him sleep in my bed, stinky as he was.

[redbird]

I'm sorry.

[piranha]

thank you.

[synecdochic]

awww. I hope he's reunited with his BFF and they're romping in the sun. :)

[piranha]

yeah. i may not believe in it, but i always kinda hope for a happy afterlife for anyone i care about anyway.

[intenselaura]

Aww, I'm sorry.

[piranha]

thank you.

[thegorgon]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[piranha]

thank you.

[forthwritten]

I'm sorry. He sounds like a splendid cat.

[piranha]

thank you. he really was the nicest feral tom i've ever met (and i met a lot of them).

[jinian]

Thanks for telling us about him so well. I'm glad you were there for him.

[piranha]

thank you. yeah, me too. it hurts to lose them, but i'll pick up strays til i go myself; it's always worth it.

[green_knight]

I am sorry you lost him - thank you for sharing his story. He sounds like a real character!

[piranha]

thank you. here i am sniffling again; he was such a sweet cat.

[wordweaverlynn]

I am so sorry. He was beautiful.

[piranha]

thank you. he looked like a grumpy, little lion when he was not yet sick. but he wasn't grumpy at all.

[submarine_bells]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[piranha]

thank you. yeah, you'd know how it feels, *sigh*.

[graydon]

I'm so sorry.
Furry little hostages to fortune.

[piranha]

thank you. in some ways i always feel worse about them than i feel about grown people dying. i don't mean that in a stupid way -- just that people understand what's happening, and animals don't.

[flarenut]

So sorry. And yet in so many ways the best you could hope for. You gave him some good years.

[piranha]

thank you. yeah, he didn't seem in pain, and just slipped away while curled up between us, in a warm place. i'm kinda hoping to go that way myself.

[xiphias]

As hard as it is to lose them, it sounds like he was comfortable, comforted, and loved as he died. He got to be in a safe place with people he loved. May we all have the same.

[pameladean]

Oh, he was a magnificent cat. Even the damaged ear just made him look adventurous.

He was exactly where he wanted to be in his last days. I am so sorry you couldn't have had him longer.

P.

[piranha]

the ear did look dashing, didn't it. :D

thank you. i hate how it hurts to lose them, but i would do it all over again anyway.

[piranha]

yeah, he wouldn't have lived as long if he hadn't learned to trust us, and we had some good times together. it's always worth it for me, and i imagine for them too.

[not_a_sniglet]

I'll miss hearing about him.

[piranha]

thank you.