There is a lot less kitty love in the world today. This morning, I had to make the sad decision to put my best buddy Stewart to sleep due to complications from his diabetes. The decision was even more painful since I am halfway around the world in New Zealand and couldn't be there with him.
Stewart was a great cat. He and his sister Xena are the friendliest, most social cats I've ever had. And he thrived on attention. You always knew he was in the room because he would announce himself as he entered and would usually reorganize things that were laying around to suit his taste. His favorite toy was a purple ball of rabbit fur on a black string. He would carry that toy around the house yowling to himself (which is hard to do when you have a toy in your mouth!). He would always put the toy in his food dish, which I joked was because it was his favorite thing in the entire house. So, imagine how special I felt when he brought the toy to me and dropped it in my lap a couple of weeks ago. I had reached food dish status!
Stewart was the social chair of my house. He was always the first to greet anyone who walked through my door, and made sure I was supervised as I went about my day. Privacy was not in his vocabulary. Closed doors weren't tolerated, and the bathroom was his favorite room of the house. It was expected that the sink would be turned on as soon as he entered the room so he could have a drink. And if I'd peek around the shower curtain, he would be curled up on the rug, waiting for me to turn the water off so he could climb in the tub and have a drink there.
I have so many memories of the 11 years I was lucky enough to have Stewart in my life. It will be hard getting used to coming home without him standing at the back door waiting for me. Xena and I will miss him.
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