The day I called my wife and told her that there was a woman at work who had a little kitten that she needed to find a home for was such a lucky day for us. It was the beginning of the summer of 2002 and we had just started a new chapter in our lives. Our son had gone away to college and we were left with our 2 dogs Ollie and Brewster and our cat Sammy, all in their senior years. Feeling the need for new surroundings we sold our home and moved to another part of Arlington, Texas. Our new home was smaller but seemed ok for us at the time. Our loving pets were the joys of our lives.
The next 3 years would prove to be most difficult. One by one we had to make the decision to help each of them cross the bridge.
During this period is was when our sweet Rufus came into our lives. When I called my wife and told her that there was a woman who had a kitten that needed a home, she was so excited. You see, she had always told me that she would love to have a golden tom cat someday and now was the time. Little did we know how much love was in store for us with him.
Little Rufus was immediately adopted by Brewster our large (125 lb) golden retriever. Brewster loved him like he was his own. I guess Brewster needed someone new in his life because he had just lost his best friend Ollie earlier in the year, and Rufus loved him back just as much.
In February the next year we had to say goodbye to Brewster. Our precious golden retriever who never met a stranger just could not stand up anymore because of his arthritis and hip dysplasia. The last six months of helping him get up to do virtually everything had taken it’s toll on him and on us and I’m sure we will hear his big bark when we cross that bridge someday.
Rufus spent the next couple weeks looking for his missing buddy. He really could not find any friendship with our elderly cat, Sammy. We rescued her from the shelter when she was just a tiny kitten and she always hung with me, so my wife always said she loved me the most. She was now 15 and had lived a long and happy life, but age was finally catching up with her, and our young and energetic Rufus was a bit more than she could handle, spending most of her time sleeping and eating and enjoying a sunny spot or two during the day.
The next spring we moved to a new home in Mansfield, Texas. Not long after settling in we had to say goodbye to Sammy. She spent most of her last days upstairs in a closet where it was warm and cozy, occasionally coming out to spend some final quality time in my lap. She left this world peacefully knowing that we loved her and that a part of her will always go with us. I sometimes still find myself thinking she might come and jump in my lap. It makes me sad and happy too that I knew her.
Rufus was now the main focus of our affection and he genuinely returned our love two fold. He would follow my wife around the house and help her with everything. He loved to help with the laundry and would lay on his fleece throw and expect to be brushed, sometimes even grabbing the brush between his paws in what appeared to be an attempt to brush himself.
As the years went by our love and relationship with Rufus deepened. He spent every morning at my wife’s side, laying on her towel to warm it up while she bathed and would sit next to her while she put on makeup. Many evenings he would come to my office, where I would be working late, and sit in my lap for some petting that he loved so much. He would just let out the biggest “brrrrrrrrs” and love back with all that he had. And many times in the middle of the night he would come to her and gently touch his nose to hers until she would pet him or come to me for some play fighting for which he would flop over on his back and let me pet his tummy.
A couple of years with Rufus and we decided that he might like to have a companion around the house, so we adopted another kitten at a shelter in Fort Worth. Rufus took Julep in as his kitten immediately and they became fast friends.
We were very happy and contented during the next several years and life seemed to be so full of busy stuff that it went by in a whirlwind. Rufus and Julep were both such joys to have around and, as with our other 4 legged friends, our lives were forever impacted by our relationship with these wonderful mysterious creatures.
Last year we moved back to Arlington again, this time to a smaller townhome, bringing with us Rufus, Julep and two more kitty’s that we inherited from our son and his wife. Rufus never missed a step. He never really cared what window he got to watch birds out of or what kind of home he was in, as long as he was around us, he was happy and contented, and so were we.
Soon though, we noticed it seemed like he wasn’t eating very much and looked to be loosing weight. After a trip to the vet and some tests, we were devastated by the news that Rufus had kidney disease and that it was very advanced.
Rufus went down so quickly, we haven’t had time to do much to prepare. A month ago we went to daily iv treatments at home to try and help him. We changed his food but his appetite was waning and he didn’t much care for anything anymore. He quit purring when we would pet him, and I knew then the time was coming soon for us to help him cross over that bridge that we had become so familiar with earlier in our lives.
Four days ago Rufus stopped eating. After a day or so he would let my wife feed him baby food by hand, but then he quit drinking too. Yesterday he was so weak he just could not stand up all day, so we made that most difficult decision to make the appointment to take him in today at at 3:45. This morning his breathing was short and choppy and he just couldn’t seem to even raise his head. So my wife picked each of the other cats up one at a time and told them to say goodbye to Rufus because he was very sick and was going to be leaving today and would not be coming back. It was cloudy and rainy looking outside and two of the cats unbelievably went over to Rufus and sniffed him, one, Sophia, even patted him a couple of times with her paw. Just at that moment the sun came out and shined through the window on Rufus, then faded away, as if to say “Goodbye old friend. One last ray of sunshine before you go ”. He probably loved to lie in the sun more than anything else in this world.
I left the house about midday to run some errands and arrived home around three in the afternoon. My wife told me Rufus had been fitful and as I came in he started crying. I think he waited for me to return before he was ready to give up. I bundled him up in my arms in his favorite fleece throw, and we took off for the vet’s. He died in my arms on the way. I don’t think i have ever been so sad as in that moment.
It’s raining now and we miss him so much. Our tears are only sweetened by our wonderful times we were blessed to share with him. And even though our hearts are about to break, I don’t think they will. You see, Rufus new this was coming, and he filled our hearts as full of his love as possible, allowing us to keep a part of him with us until we too cross that bridge someday, when he will jump in our laps and “purr”.
RIP RUFUS 2002-2010
