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Goodbye, Blue

I had to say goodbye to one of my oldest and dearest friends on Saturday. My sister had been taking care of our cat and he got very sick. The vet said he most likely had a stroke. He was 19 years old.

I first met Blue in Arkansas at my grandma’s house. Blue and his litter were born just a couple of weeks before we got there. There was a gray kitten, a black kitten, and three brown ones. My cousin, sister, and I spent two weeks doting on them. I was 8 and Mary was 5. I fell in love and Blue was my favorite. At the time, we called him Baby Blue because his eyes were blue and his fur was so silvery-gray it was almost blue. Grandma called him Blue Boy. At the end of our visit, I remember backing out of Grandma’s driveway crying and crying.

 

Gray cat

 

By some miracle, we finally convinced Mom and Dad to let us get a pet other than a fish. Mom went to visit Grandma later that year and brought Blue back with her. We were beyond excited and I carried him through the terminal.

I wish I had more pictures of his kitten days. We have oh so many, but that was before things went digital. My mom took a photo of one of the photos and sent it to me… this is Mary playing tea party with water and Blue:

 

Mary having a tea party with a kitten

 

He was a cultured cat – he always came into the music room when I was practicing. I’ll never forget how he’d wince when I played a sour note on the violin. Ha!

I guess he used up all of his nine lives. He’s fallen off the roof because of a window screen popping out and lived the last decade with kidney disease. Sometimes I thought Mom might kill him because he broke too many of her hens on a nest and Christmas ornaments. Even though he drove us crazy sometimes, he was a major part of my childhood and our family and I will miss him very much.

Blue had a white heart on his tummy:

 

Gray cat heart tummy

 

Leah with her cat

 

Gray cat lounging

 

Gray cat in the light

 

David and Blue

 

This was the last time I saw him in December 2014:

 

Leah's last time with Blue

 

The vet made a paw print for my sister after they put him down. Such a sweet gesture.

 

Blue's pawprint

 

Goodbye, Blue Babe. I’ll miss you.

 

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1 Comment

  • Reply Aunt Karen

    Ohh. How we miss those furry friends that find their way into our lives.

    September 1, 2015 at 11:42 pm
  • Leave a Reply to Aunt Karen Cancel reply