Goodbye, My Gentleman

Today is a sad day in my life, for today I had to say goodbye to another feline companion. Guy, who has been part of the family for the past three years, was peacefully laid to rest today after valiantly fighting a digestive system disease.

Some of you know the back story on Guy. For those of you who don't, let me fill you in. Three years ago, when I was living in South Bend, I had two cats: Booger, who was three at the time and who I have had since he was eight weeks old, and Bucky, a nine-month old kitten. One Saturday morning, one of the local news shows was running its weekly Humane Society spot, and they featured this beautiful gray-and-white male cat who looked a bit like Booger and was about his age. They said his name was Guy and that he had been there for about a year because his previous owners couldn't keep him. He was so sweet--he just laid there in the reporter's arms. I thought if I didn't have two cats already I would adopt him.

Then Bucky developed feline leukemia, and I had to have him put to sleep the day after Easter in 2009, a couple of weeks shy of  his first birthday. Needless to say, I was very distraught, as I tend to get very attached to my pets. It took a couple of months, but in June I thought that Booger could use a playmate, since I was away from the house so much, working two jobs. I remembered Guy from the news and called the Humane Society. Yes, he was still available, I was told. Sadly, there weren't lines forming to adopt three-year-old neutered, declawed housecats, no matter how sweet. I met him and was taken by his loving nature--how a little fellow like him could spend a year in a crowded shelter and still just melt in my arms simply amazed me.

I brought him home and Booger, of course, didn't like it one bit. He eventually warmed up to Guy, though, and they would play all over that South Bend house. What I remember most about Guy there was how he could lie for hours in the windows of the front porch, watching the world go by on the street; how he adopted the reclining chair as his and would sleep there when he wasn't on the porch; how he liked to get into the crawlspace attached to the basement and climb on top the duct work down there; and, mostly, how quiet he was. Guy did not have a regular "meow," like most cats; he had a very quiet, almost inaudible "mew" that he would "say" every now and then. Even his purring was quiet.

When Kendra and I got married in March 2011, we spent the first few months living three hours apart. In July we decided enough was enough and I would move to Greenwood at the end of August. I quit my full-time job at the end of July but continued my three-nights-per-week teaching job through August. Kendra moved into our rented house in the middle of July, and at the end of that month I brought the cats down, as I would only be in South Bend three nights. Kendra has never been a cat lover, and she probably never will be, but I think she took to Guy as much as she could to any feline. She would tell me how, on those nights I was in South Bend, he would very quietly come up to her when she was sitting on the sofa, touch her softly with his paw, then climb on her lap or legs to snooze. That was one of the most adorable things about Guy--he was so polite. He would never just jump on you--he would always gently touch you first to see if it was OK. Even when I was down in Greenwood those four other nights, Guy would choose to sit close to or on Kendra--even though she could never figure out why.

Guy had had some digestive tract issues before, and I had gotten them treated, but perhaps the move to Florida was more than he could take. Although the vet gave us medicine and instructions about how to care for Guy, he never fully recovered from his ordeal. So for the past few weeks, we let Guy go out into our fenced back yard so he could experience a little of the outdoor life, and he got to live out what the vet called "every indoor cat's fantasy." He established his presence in the yard very quickly: he relished being able to lie in the sun or under the bougainvilla, and he even got the opportunity to stalk and catch a few lizards. Guy was the ultimate "people" cat, and I know he enriched our lives in ways I can not count.

I do not know what kind of life you had before I adopted you, Guy, but I hope you loved every minute you had with us. I cherished every day with you, and I will never forget you. Thank you for allowing me to be your surrogate family these past three years. Rest in peace, my Gentleman, my Guy Kitty.

Guy under the bougainvilla--here lizard, lizard....

Guy in the South Bend house, checking out Kendra's phone.