End of an Era

Warning: Sad story ahead, so be prepared if you keep reading.

Yesterday, our beloved evil cat in residence passed away. He did not seem to be in ill health in days leading up to his passing. Martin was still eating, drinking in the bathroom sink, and sleeping in his favorite spots. I had let him out the afternoon before and he did not come in that night. Usually, he would be at the door to be let in the next morning, but he was not there. After some searching, I found him peacefully at rest under the back stairs to the house. Eric came home and brought him to the vet to be cremated. They confirmed that he had simply died of old age. He was 16. Although I am very happy he did not suffer, I wish I could have hugged him one last time and said good-bye.

My friend Keith was a flight attendant for NW and Martin's original person. I was asked to watch Martin for a few months until Keith found an apartment in Detroit. However, on one of his flights to London, he happened to meet and fall in love with and English girl, and Martin and I stayed together for the next 15 years. Martin was a rascal. He would trap small children on stairs, too terrified to pass him. He peeped in at people showering, and I had more than one guest scream when they looked up to eyes glowing down on them. No one was supposed to use the bathroom in private, and many people found out that the door was not completely closed against the weight of a 16 pound cat. There were a few embarrassed people over the years. Despite these faults, maybe because of them, I just loved him. He made things interesting. And for all his naughtiness, will always have a special place in my heart because of the heartaches we went through together. When first my Dad, and then my Mom, passed away, he laid in bed next to me each night for weeks when I would cry. You could have wrung him out with the amount of salt water in him. Over the years, he would know when I was sad about something and come over and give me a head butt. For many years, he would greet me at the door when I came home.

I was very lucky that Eric also loved Martin, and they became the best of buddies. Martin had really slowed down this last year, and Eric would groom him, through all of Martin's protests. I don't think Libby will have much of a memory of him, but she will hear the stories.

I will miss you, you naughty old boy you.