I miss my Felix. He had to be euthanized late afternoon on Friday, September 11, 2015. He was not eating and had lost way too much weight. It was so sad and I felt so bad that I couldn’t help him other than loving him and petting him.
Dr. Michael Forret, our outstanding vet since 1994, diagnosed Felix with a stomach tumor. Felix didn’t have a temperature and his vitals were okay, indicating thank goodness that he wasn’t in too much pain.
A lasting memory of Felix & Me
Felix showed up in our neighbor’s garden in June 2002. Jacob heard meowing and checked it out, bringing a completely black fluff ball back with him. I remember the first night….just holding this black kitten out in the garage.
Most of his life he pretty much was a garage/outdoor cat, but certainly loved coming inside and hanging out in the mondo, sleeping on the futon, or just chillin’ wherever suited his liking!
Fluff Man. At his glory he weighed over 15 pounds, all claws and one incredible meow!
I heard once that good cats get petted as much as they want in heaven. They get whatever they loved here on earth at their pawtips! Felix had a great life and yes, he had his share of injuries (eg: broken paw, chipped ear, gouges from jumping a fence) and vet procedures (eg: front incisor had to be removed).
He always smelled like he was wearing leather and had recently been at a (smoke-free) bar. He had a beautiful wart under his left eye. He was downright cool.
God I miss him. Pets are so important to people’s lives. I keep on thinking I see him out in the backyard, or under the house where he had a special spot to sleep.
I will never forget the sound of his meow. Or how he would bump your arm just enough so more cat food would land in his bowl (he taught that to our white cat Alaska). Oh, and he taught our dog Bella how to jump the backyard chain link gate (booh).
Felix was also known by me as cafe’ kitty, as he would lay non-chalantly on the curb of our driveway with one paw either crossed or draped over the edge. And when one of us would make the drive up our driveway, we’d have to go very slow because Felix was leading us up (like a sheep dog) and at times he would just plop down in front of the car. You simply had to stop. Silly cat.
I also remember one time many, many moons ago…when Felix was missing for 10 days. I thought he was gone for good…and prayed he wasn’t. But returning from church one early, crispy cold winter morning (back over 10-11 years ago when we celebrated Mass at St. Ambrose), there he was down the street.
I yelled to Randy, stop the car! Then opened the door and ran through the snow to him, picked him up and hugged him sooo long, then carried him home.
For the next 10 days solid following the “rescue” he slept with me at night, snuggling right up. We figured he was stuck in someone’s garage as he had gotten really thin. Then Fluff Man returned to his normal acting feline nature and back to his hunting escapades (oh the critters he brought and left right outside the back door…)!
I love you Felix, AKA Fluff Man and am heart broken.
One way to say I love you to a cat is to gaze into their eyes and slowly close your own! I love you!
Our neighbors liked Felix all and all, and people would comment how huge he was! I know Felix’s feline sisters Samantha Josephine (who also came into my life in March 2002 as an Aqualand store bought from the kitty window) and Alaska (who also showed up…followed Jacob and his friend down the street) back in 2012 misses you too.
Cats that are “a find” are the best!
Jacob got a tattoo of Felix based on his drawing. Maybe I should get a tattoo, too, someday? More likely a henna one!
“Righty-O” Felix the Cat, the Wonderful, Wonderful Cat….Whenever he gets in a fix, he reaches into his bag of tricks!
Take time to love your pets, unconditional love is all they know! Prrrrrrr. Here’s a link to a post titled People and Their Pets…Got Cat? where I write about vocational assessment and psycho-social factors, such as pet ownership. Thank you for reading and stop and pet your pet!
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My professional rehabilitation counseling practice is focused on helping people participate in the world around them, particularly in their own world of work.
