Jazz entered out life 11 and a half years ago when we took our elderly cat (15yo)Lucky for a check up. The vet had some kittens in a cage in the foyer. This black 1/2 grown kitten looked at my husband through the cage and blinked. Rodg said hello mate. Kitten blinked and said hello right back. So they chatted while I was inside with Lucky. I came out and Rodg said I think he wants to come home with us. So he did. He rode in the car on Rodgs' shoulder (I know it was naughty but we weren't prepared for taking 2 cats home).
He was the friendliest cat I had ever known, also had the strangest food fetishes.
He was so friendly that I had to warn visitors to check their cars before they went home to make sure he wasn't in it, even after someone backed over his head in the driveway(all he had was a huge bruise!) he had no fear of cars or strangers, everyone was a friend.
We have a lady who lives further up our street who brings her 2 small daughters down with a picnic lunch to sit under the Eucalypt out the front and visit with our Jazz and Buster, a 3 legged broken tailed persian - chinchilla cross, because they aren't allowed to have cats. You'd often look out the front and see the 5 of them having their picnics! He also visited all the neighbours for tidbits, even the ones that didn't like cats gave in eventually, but he always came home.
Jazz liked to eat cucumber, avocado and strangest of all sour cream and onion Pringles! He only got 1 every Saturday night, well we had to give in and give him one otherwise we'd have drowned in cat dribble. He LOVED prawns and lobster. He loved sitting on Rodg's knee and kneading, all claws extended, till Rodg couldn't take the pain anymore and put him on the floor. Sometimes Rodg would take it for hours because he didn't want to hurt his feelings. He would let the dogs use his head for a chew toy, sat with all the kids at the bus stop on school mornings, chatting with them, and be waiting for them when they got off in the afternoon. He wasn't too fussy whose kids they were as long as someone was there. He was just our Jazz.
I took Jazz to the vet last week at the age of 12 as he had become skin and bone almost overnight. He had a huge lump on his side that I knew was not good news. Our vet said he had one of the biggest kidney tumours he had ever seen and that his other kidney, which up till then had been doing all the work, was failing hence the rapid weight loss. I, of course, felt guilty that I hadn't noticed it before he lost the weight.Up until Saturday he was his usual self. Saturday and Sunday he wouldn't go outside and that worried me. It was then I noticed how skinny he was. The vet said it was OK it may have happend in the last 3 months or the last 3 weeks and there was nothing I could have done, it was the weight loss that made the tumour noticeable. I asked how long he had, vet sad 10 days maybe, I said is he suffering? He just looked at me. I said OK do it. So I held another trusting paw and stood by while he went to the Rainbow Bridge. I took him home and buried him under his favourite bush out the front where he used to watch the neighbourhood and run out to say hello to passers by. From there he can see the picnic spot and the bus stop. It must have been sad to see only 4 having a picnic on Monday. Rodg went out to tell them that Jazz wouldn't be joining them, I'm glad I wasn't home to see their tears.
So now 2 big black dopey critters are waiting for of us on the Rainbow Bridge. Keg's probably drooling with excitement that Jazz is there to have his head chewed on. Nearly as good as a ball.
Take care of each other my babies.
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