I am sorry to hear of your loss. I am reminded of my own dear Fiona, who lost an ear to frostbite after a cruel owner dumped her and her kittens by the side of a road in a cold snap. In spite of temps approaching -40, she kept herself and her kittens warm and alive. A Good Samaritan found the little family, and took them to the shelter.
And just like your Charlie with his scars, nobody wanted a cat with a missing ear. But she jumped to the front of the cage at the shelter when she saw me; and when I opened the door, she jumped into my arms and purred, and sank her claws into me. The chemistry was there, she was mine, and I was hers. It’s been over ten years, but I still have her. She still jumps into my arms and purrs and sinks her claws into me.
Like my Fiona, your Charlie was obviously yours. That makes the loss doubly-sad, when an animal chooses you, instead of the other way around.
In honor of Charlie, I will give all my cats extra treats and skritches; and I will ask them to send good thoughts Charlie’s way. And I will take some time with Fiona and tell her about Charlie.
Take comfort in the fact he passed at home stress free, I’ve seen animals pass after being taken to a vet and it only adds stress to their last moments.
Thank you all. It’s still so hard, coming home and my kittyboy isn’t there. Ruby is finally accepting, but I can tell that she misses him terribly.
The dogs have a big stuffed hedgehog that is ALMOST the same color Charlie was, and almost nightly, I see that thing out of the corner of my eye and for a split second, think… Charlie? Then I realize what it is, and it hurts all over again. That stuffed hedgehog is likely going to disappear…
