Many of the messages that I have gotten have said, in essence, how lucky Roosevelt was to have been adopted by me from the shelter and have had such a good life. Comparatively, I suppose that is true. I have a different viewpoint of it.

First of all, Roosevelt adopted me, not the other way around. I was walking through the shelter and he called me from the bale of hay that he was sitting on. I picked him up and he wrapped his paws around my neck and hugged me, and claimed me as his own.

From the moment I took him home, that cat was my right arm, best friend, love of my life, night time teddy bear, surrogate parent, and steadying influence. Not a moment's stress from that cat about moving to his new home. He knew it was his and that was that. He was even kind enough to let me continue to live there with him.

When I brought home Feather as a bedraggled little kitten, he adopted her, parented her, slept with her, trained her, and loved her. When I brought home abandoned cat Koi, same story. I depended on him to help me parent new arrivals, and he always came through for me with flying colors.

When my ex husband and I broke up and I left Alaska and came home, he came with me in his carrier, stayed with me whenever I needed him, rubbed my cheeks with his face when I cried, and helped me pick out boyfriends when I started dating again. The ones he hated inevitably turned out to be losers.

When my mother died, I was a wreck for months. I lived alone with just my 3 cats at the time. When I laid in bed at night, trying to come to grips with the horrible idea of living in world that didn't have my mother somewhere in it, I at least had the constant comfort of a purring, warm companion who loved me and never left me. He had loved her too.

When I remarried, he liked my new husband right away. Good call. We've been together for 10 years now. Years ago, we adopted 2 strays who needed a home, and as always, Roosevelt helped to welcome them, train them, and teach them how to properly be a dignified cat. He even had the dog fairly whipped into shape recently.

Throughout good times and bad,Roosevelt has been there for me. He has certainly outlasted most of the people, who come and go as their lives and interests and jobs change. The cat had class, character, and panache. He was my gentle giant. I will miss him for the rest of my life.