Saying goodbye

She was friendly and welcoming to me from the first time I met her. Since she was a member of Nate's family, it was important to me that she liked me. Especially because he was one of her favorite people in the entire world, they had a very special bond. I've been told that when he used to go to camp for the summer she would sit and cry at his door for hours on end, wondering where he was. He was the one that got her to swallow some medicine to try and get her to throw up when she swallowed a needle and thread once after other family members had made several attempts.

I'm sure you're curious now as to who I am speaking of. I'm talking about the family cat, Missy. She was a beautiful multi-colored kitty who had a purr that could shake the entire room. Yesterday was a sad day, for unfortunately her health had deteriorated to a point where there was nothing that could be done to save her, so the decision was made to let her go. She was 18 years old, not bad for a cat, but still, it was tough news to hear.

Missy came into their lives when Nate was about 10 years old, so she was around for more than half of his life. She was truly a member of their family. She was already well into her older adulthood by the time I met her, but she still had quite a bit of spunk at that time. I remember it was a race to get into the front door at times before she'd try to sneak out. She was never shy about letting you know when she was hungry, which happened often when we'd be having family dinners on a Sunday night. She absolutely loved to be brushed, which is still something I wish my two girls liked as much as she did. The men were clearly her favorite people, she always found her way into Nate's or his dad's laps. We have a running joke of "I can't do this right now, I have COL (cat on lap)" which is something Nate's dad started saying when Missy would be more or less glued to him.

I had opportunities to spend time with her on many occasions as I started being the cat-sitter when Nate's family would go out of town shortly after we started dating. We had fun together, she was more playful then. I can remember Nate's grandparents would sometimes help out with watering flowers and such and would give her a little food. I had to tell them, please do not feed the kitty, I've been given specific instructions on feeding her. Because Missy loved to eat and would eat as many times as someone would give her food, but eventually would overeat and usually throw up someplace. Overall though, she was a good kitty.

I'm glad she suffers no longer, but she will be very much missed. We'll never forget you Missy.