Tigre...goodbye.

     My sweet, sweet boy…Big Boy, Tiger-Stripes, Akaar (your first name which did not suit you), Nestle-Toll-House-Chocolate-Chip-Cookie-Dough-Paws, Big Mitts, Scaredy-Cat, Three-Breakfast-Eater, Food-Stealer, Cat-Fight-Instigator, Female-Cats’-“Ladies-Man”, Big Bellios, Tom, My Darling, My Angel...goodbye.

     I adopted you as a teeny-tiny kitten almost thirteen years ago; you were found in an alley, and neutered “too soon” said the Veterinarian who took you in. You were screaming bloody murder in your cage, isolated from the other cats because of your vocal stamina. You were the last kitten they introduced me to; I took one look at you and said “That’s the one for me!” You were highly sensitive, and misunderstood…you had a rough start, Alley-Cat, Trash-Cat, my Beloved, Handsome Boy.

     You were always vocal…I could have entire conversations with you, and you would respond, give me your thoughts on a matter, or demand your food; you grew into a sixteen-pound gorgeous boy with luminous tiger-stripes and golden eyes…Tiger Eyes. Tigre.

     You have been with me through romantic heartbreak, my diagnosis of legal blindness, my mother’s death, her husband’s death, my sister’s husband’s death, the Pandemic, the Drumpf Presidency and its aftermath, job losses and successes, collage stress (!), the drifting-away of some old friendships, and my artistic pursuits put on the back burner because of so much loss, so quickly all I could do was muster up the courage to cope. You played the piano for me, when I was too despondent to lift my hands to the keys, let alone sing out loud.

     I will look for you in many places, in expected and unexpected places…in the bathroom sink, in the bathtub, on the kitchen table (“Bad cat!” – my response, purely performative for my house-mates’ sake), on my piano and keyboard, in the window, on “your chair”, on my bed, in my arms.

     Thank you for loving me unconditionally, and for being here as long as you could, through thick and thin, for not judging me or pointing out my many flaws, because I am, after all, just a human being learning as I go.

     To dismiss your passing as “just a cat” would be a gigantic understatement; you were/are an Angel sent here to teach me that love is the only thing that matters in this world. It is a painful lesson to learn (and re-learn), but all I can do is thank you for it, for making me more aware of what really matters in life.

     You are greatly missed, my sweet Tigre, Tiger-Boy, and you will always be loved.