We said good-bye to Zeke on Saturday. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, even though we knew it was the right choice. He'd seemed a little sicker on Friday night. We called for an appointment, explaining we'd be leaving town in a few days, and they got us a spot at 3:15. We learned that he was actually very, very sick. So sick that to take him home again and wait until Monday would have been inhumane. It was awful but thinking of him in pain was much, much worse.

Even before we went to the vet's I was thinking of writing a post just about Zeke. I don't think I've ever done one and it seemed unfair - Abby has lots. I was thinking about looking for some old pictures of him and was worried I wouldn't have many. When we got Abby I took tonnes of pictures of her and remember feeling guilty that I hadn't taken so many of Zeke. But when I pulled all of my pictures of Zeke into a folder I discovered I had over 780. Many are blurry or otherwise bad pictures - a black cat is a difficult thing to photograph, especially if he tends to turn his head at the sound of the shutter - but there are also many good ones. I feel I should share the whole of Zeke's story here but know that even if I wrote forever I'd still miss things so I'm just going to share some of my favourite pictures and some thoughts about Zeke.

April 2005 - This is the earliest picture of Zeke I can find. He always wanted to be close by when anyone was working in the kitchen.

When I adopted Zeke the only piece of information his previous family had felt important enough to share was "gets under feet in kitchen". They could have expanded that too "loves ham, chicken and other meats, especially if smoked, do not attempt to walk unless you give him some." That was in November of 2004. I asked for age estimates on him from both the vets he saw in his first couple of years with us and it sounds like he was probably about ten when I adopted him. I like knowing that we supplied him with six good years in his old age - years he might not have had otherwise. I think he was very happy with us. His purr box never stopped working and he always hugged right into me when I picked him up. We called him a "port-a-hug with insta-purr". There could never be better one.

February 2006 - In our old apartment.

Zeke ...

... taught Abby every thing she knows about begging.
... needed to be picked up and carried around every time we came home.
... liked to rub his gums on the Christmas tree (we have a fake one).

December 2008

... put up with much chewing and tugging from Abby.
... washed Abby's face on a regular basis.
... was always around to lend a paw when I was making a quilt sandwich.
... slept on the beds and played with the toys I made for him.
... liked to play with string.
... loved ham, chicken and canned fish.
... had far fewer white hairs when I first met him.

May 2008 - I have quite a few pictures like this. For some reason I really like them.

... had a purr you could hear across the room.
... would purr so hard he couldn't swallow and would drool on your shoulder.
... liked to keep us on schedule.
... would give us a good talking too if we stayed up too late.
... always wore a red collar.

June 2009 - Me and Zeke

... is often in the background of my photographs.
... had a root beer coloured undercoat.
... would sometimes play back when Abby gave him a test nibble.

February 2009

... had a lot of salt in his fur and a couple of white whiskers when he left us.
... always wanted to be where he could see us, even if that meant he was more likely to be chewed on.
... followed the sun around the house.

October 2010

... liked to flick the pages of magazines left on the floor.
... would snuggle right into my neck when I picked him up.
... nearly always ran away from visitors - most never saw him.
... always came to the door to meet us when we got home.

June 2008 - Checking out our new home.

... was fascinated by my computer screen, especially if I was typing, playing WOW or the screen saver was running.
... liked to sit or lie on my desk to make sure he got plenty of attention.

June 2009

April 2010

... was a healthy fourteen pound cat for all but his last six months with us.
... had a soft, black tummy.
... was always good about having his claws clipped.
... yawned and sneezed more than any other cat I've ever met.

September 2007

... was a power nuffer*and regularly risked falling over if you moved your leg at the wrong time.
... enjoyed watching birds and squirrels at the feeder outside.
... frequently slept under the blankets in our bed during the day.
... was always happy to see us when we got home from a trip.
... was the best of foot warmers.

March 2011 - On Rob's feet.

... liked to stick his nose out the window in the summer time.
... only drank from Abby's water dish but got annoyed if his was empty.
... could usually be found sleeping under a chair, bed or coffee table.
... hardly ever pulled out his claws or teeth, even when Abby got rough.

2 April 2011 - A remarkably blissful moment. Zeke as there first and Abby joined him, no chewing at all (though she did wag her tail in his face).

... loved to be brushed.
... lost one of his incisors last year. It looked funny when he yawned.
... liked chin rubs.

We all miss him so much.

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You can find more posts about Zeke here and more photos here.

*nuff: the action of a cat to rub up against something or someone.