by Sue Mellert
I will never forget the day you showed up on my doorstep. I had just finished looking through the want ads for a cat. We finally were living in an apartment that allowed pets, and I wanted to get a cat. I always had one growing up and figured I could talk daddy into it. Anyway, after looking through all the ads in the paper and seeing a couple of prospects, I had to get ready to go to work. When I opened the front door to go out and get the mail, there you were. You were just sitting there on the steps looking so thin and malnourished. I spooked you and you ran down the steps. I went on down to the mailbox to find you just sitting in the middle of the lawn watching me. I just sat down on the steps and started to talk to you. You came right up to me, crawled up into my lap, put your paws on my shoulders and started to purr and nuzzle me. I was won over. You followed me back up the stairs and waited on the porch while I got you some chicken and milk from the fridge. I remember daddy asking who I was talking to until I pulled the milk out. Then he realized. I said I couldn't let you starve, you were so hungry. He came out and had to agree, YOU WERE BEAUTIFUL. You kept coming back and eventually just moved right on in. No one in the neighborhood knew who you were, and we figured someone just left you behind. So you came to live with us.
You just moved right in and made yourself at home. You became like our child and we spoiled you rotten. We always made time to play the silly little games you liked like gotcha getcha and hide and seek. At night you would curl up right next to me in bed or around the top of my head and purr me to sleep. We were attached at the hip. You loved to get a nip of catnip and chase those peacock feathers I would get for you. I will never forget the first time you crawled up on daddy's chest when he was sleeping. He had just had a tuna sandwich, and of course you smelled it. He woke up freaking out about how you were sucking his breath. I had to convince him that was just an old wives tale and there was no truth to that at all. What did he know, he had never had cats. But, you one him over. You became our best freind. You met us at the door when we came in from work, and if we went out of town for a couple of days, you let us know about it. We shared our lives for 10 beautiful years.
Then, you got sick. We couldn't figure out why you kept throwing up. All your blood work came back fine, your physical exam was fine, but you got worse. You couldn't eat and were losing weight. I took you back to the vet. I was heartbroken by what he said. Only two weeks had passed since we were there, and now he felt a huge mass in your belly. We did the x-rays to confirm his suspicion. Cancer, and an extremely fast growing one at that. HE didn't feel that surgery would be much of an option for you. He felt that the cancer took over too much and he wouldn't be able to fix it. So, we took you home for one last night. It was the hardest night of my life. I remember your face every time you looked at me, I couldn't stop crying. I am so sorry. If there was any way we could have known and caught it earlier, maybe you would still be here with us. Ironically again, I couldn't let you starve to death and that was what was happening because of the tumor. So, in the morning everyone said their goodbyes and daddy and I took you back to the vets for one last trip. I held you in my arms and told you how much I loved you, and then you were gone. That was only 4 days ago. The house seems so empty now. We look for you everytime we come in from work, but you aren't here. We miss you so much. We always will. I know you are waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge and that I will see you once again. We just want you to know how much we both love you. You will always be our beautiful Fatboy.
Love always,
Mommy and daddy.