Written Monday afternoon 9-12-05
In 1986 I was living in San Diego when I met him. A "springy" little kitten with the sweetest green eyes I'd ever seen and a beautiful gray, tan, white and black tabby coat of fur. He lived down the street with a bunch of other kitties. But he preferred my house. One day while I was cleaning, he came over to visit. When the door was open he always walked right on in. Well, I was headed down the hallway to vacuum and decided I would close & lock the door, as I was home alone and the hallway went into the back of the condo. I figured the kitty had gone home because he disappeared while I was cleaning. After vacuuming, I opened the front door and was heading past the fireplace when SPROING! out of the fireplace came the kitty and off the floor I went. Scared the daylights out of me. He looked very proud of his accomplishment and all but laughed at me. From that moment on I knew we were meant to be. I asked the lady who had him and several others if I could keep him. And so the relationship began. Due to the major crush I had on John Elway, I decided to name my new friend Elway. I also gave him a nickname, Sneak.
He's been with me now for 18+ years. He has seen me through so much. My divorce, career, loss of a baby, marriage and the birth of Jaymes. He knows all my secrets and dreams.
Over the past 18 years and 8 months Elway and I have lived in 15 different places together. My most favorite is when we lived on Linden Ave in Grass Valley. It was the first time I had lived alone, well without another human anyway. I really developed a sense of who I was and I shared every single thing about my venture with my best friend, Elway.
Another favorite was in Oceanside. That's when he was the almighty hunter and would bring me half-eaten lizards and an occasional squirrel. It's also when he had his major injury. I'm not sure if he was hit by a car or kicked by someone, but he spent about 2 months in a cage. He had surgery to repair a broken shoulder blade. His cage was decorated with cards sent to him by friends.
Elway is also known for a special trick. He speaks on command. His favorite toy is a shiny necklace and he loves to help change the sheets. His favorite food is beef. Elway has outlived two other cats, Felix and Max and is very close with his current brother Stache who's been with him for 10 years.
Over the past 4+ years, Elway has been battling Hyper Thyroid and Chronic Bowel Disease. He has been kept alive due to good medicine, the best veterinarian on the planet, tons of love and the will to stay around per my constant requests. I asked him if he would be up for beating the Guinness Record of the longest life lived by a cat, which is 32 years. I think he would be up for it, but the odds are stacked against us. This morning, my best friend took a turn for the worst.
No matter how hard I've tried to prepare myself, I'm not ready to say goodbye. But, I love him enough to know that he deserves to be at peace.
Tomorrow I will say goodbye to the best friend I've ever or will ever have.
People talk about finding your soul mate. I don't know if there is such a thing or even if we're only meant to have one or if it has to actually be in human form. What I do know is that a wonderful soul came into my life and touched my heart. He happens to be a cat, named Elway. And I will love him forever.
UPDATE: A few hours after writing this, my sweet cat died. I saw he was going and so I took him and a blanket out to the back yard and brushed him, held him close and reminded him how much he brought to my life. I've never seen anyone die before and all I can say is that I'm so grateful that I was there with my sweet sweet best friend. My heart hurts so much.
In 1986 I was living in San Diego when I met him. A "springy" little kitten with the sweetest green eyes I'd ever seen and a beautiful gray, tan, white and black tabby coat of fur. He lived down the street with a bunch of other kitties. But he preferred my house. One day while I was cleaning, he came over to visit. When the door was open he always walked right on in. Well, I was headed down the hallway to vacuum and decided I would close & lock the door, as I was home alone and the hallway went into the back of the condo. I figured the kitty had gone home because he disappeared while I was cleaning. After vacuuming, I opened the front door and was heading past the fireplace when SPROING! out of the fireplace came the kitty and off the floor I went. Scared the daylights out of me. He looked very proud of his accomplishment and all but laughed at me. From that moment on I knew we were meant to be. I asked the lady who had him and several others if I could keep him. And so the relationship began. Due to the major crush I had on John Elway, I decided to name my new friend Elway. I also gave him a nickname, Sneak.
He's been with me now for 18+ years. He has seen me through so much. My divorce, career, loss of a baby, marriage and the birth of Jaymes. He knows all my secrets and dreams.
Over the past 18 years and 8 months Elway and I have lived in 15 different places together. My most favorite is when we lived on Linden Ave in Grass Valley. It was the first time I had lived alone, well without another human anyway. I really developed a sense of who I was and I shared every single thing about my venture with my best friend, Elway.
Another favorite was in Oceanside. That's when he was the almighty hunter and would bring me half-eaten lizards and an occasional squirrel. It's also when he had his major injury. I'm not sure if he was hit by a car or kicked by someone, but he spent about 2 months in a cage. He had surgery to repair a broken shoulder blade. His cage was decorated with cards sent to him by friends.
Elway is also known for a special trick. He speaks on command. His favorite toy is a shiny necklace and he loves to help change the sheets. His favorite food is beef. Elway has outlived two other cats, Felix and Max and is very close with his current brother Stache who's been with him for 10 years.
Over the past 4+ years, Elway has been battling Hyper Thyroid and Chronic Bowel Disease. He has been kept alive due to good medicine, the best veterinarian on the planet, tons of love and the will to stay around per my constant requests. I asked him if he would be up for beating the Guinness Record of the longest life lived by a cat, which is 32 years. I think he would be up for it, but the odds are stacked against us. This morning, my best friend took a turn for the worst.
No matter how hard I've tried to prepare myself, I'm not ready to say goodbye. But, I love him enough to know that he deserves to be at peace.
Tomorrow I will say goodbye to the best friend I've ever or will ever have.
People talk about finding your soul mate. I don't know if there is such a thing or even if we're only meant to have one or if it has to actually be in human form. What I do know is that a wonderful soul came into my life and touched my heart. He happens to be a cat, named Elway. And I will love him forever.
UPDATE: A few hours after writing this, my sweet cat died. I saw he was going and so I took him and a blanket out to the back yard and brushed him, held him close and reminded him how much he brought to my life. I've never seen anyone die before and all I can say is that I'm so grateful that I was there with my sweet sweet best friend. My heart hurts so much.
s How awsome that you got to hold your sweet Kitty at the last moment of life. One day you will meet again 
