Then there was one...

We lost our dear, sweet Simon yesterday, at the ripe old age of 16. Simon was the most affectionate, sweetest cat I've ever known. His favorite things is the world were his humans, (namely me) "making biscuits" and eating. Speaking of "making biscuits," that reminds me of the first time I ever laid eyes on him.

Kevin and I had just lost our young cat, Nugget to a strange tumor that took his life. I was grieving pretty heavily as was Nugget's littermate, Banjo. So, we agreed to get another kitten to help us all to heal. We had decided that we'd go to PetsMart over the weekend to see if any kittens were available. We had several specifications for this new kitten: 1. it had to be a singleton because, after witnessing how closely bonded the littermates, Banjo and Nugget were, we couldn't bear to think about taking siblings away from each other and 2. it had to be another orange tabby--preferably one with some white on it too, similar to Nugget. So, the day before we were to go to PetsMart to pick out our new kitten, I decided that it would be smart to go ahead to PetsMart to pick up some of the necessary kitten supplies that we'd need for the new kitten--so that we wouldn't have to juggle a new kitten plus all of the kitten's accessories in one shopping trip. Off to PetsMart I went.

After filling my basket with all of the new kitten supplies, I couldn't resist the pull of the area at the front of the store where the Humane Society set up shop to house adoptions. A few cages down the line, what did I see but a single, orange and white tabby, laying blissfully on his back, making biscuits in the air and purring so loudly that I could hear him from several cages away. Done. Sold. Wrap him up, I'm taking him home.

They'd named him "Taz" (as in Tazmanian Devil) at the shelter because he did have some special, spastic characteristics. But he was a lover from the get-go. He and Banjo took to one another almost immediately. In fact, if anything, Simon asserted himself as the boss from the moment he met Banjo and Banjo obliged him that. That character trait held fast all of Simon's life. He was the Alpha Cat for sure.

And what a chow-hound! Simon LOVED his food. In fact, he loved his food so, that he literally ate himself into a serious bout with diabetes that he battled for the last 10 years of his life--which is an extraordinarily long time. With his disease came the discovery of the best vet ever--Dr. Oeben, a cat-only vet. She loved Simon as much as we did and the feelings were mutual for Simon, too. When we'd go in to see Dr. Oeben, he'd give her his signature head-butt-to-the-face, which she correctly returned with a kiss to the head. He'd always purr so loudly the whole time she was examining, poking and prodding him that she'd have to pinch his little nose shut in order to stop the purring long enough for her to hear his heart beat.

Simon's will to live was incredible. In his later years, about once a year, he'd get deathly ill and threaten to die (and subsequently, cost us many hundreds of dollars) but he always battled back. The last few years, he'd begun to lose weight and really was looking old. He'd grown this strange horn-like back toenail that confounded Dr. Oeben, as well as a gooey, oozey tumor on his neck. By the end of his life, I'd lost count, but think he was down to only 1 or 2 teeth left. One year ago, we lost Simon's best friend, Banjo. I feel as though some of Simon's will to live left along with Banjo.

Over the weekend, Simon got ill and wasn't able to bounce back. He wasn't himself. For years, I've always thought to myself that, when Simon stopped eating, that was his sign to us that he was done. On Tuesday, for the first time ever, he stopped eating. I knew it was time.

Simon was my cat. He loved me the best and he was my favorite too. His head always smelled like vanilla and I could recognize his meow from a mile away. There will never be another Simon Birch and, a little piece of my heart died with him yesterday. Is it dumb to say that you have an animal soul mate? Probably, but I feel as though our souls were connected somehow and I hope that they always will be. Rest in peace my sweet boy. May you frolic, get a crazy horsey-tail when feeling playful and make biscuits forever.