Blackie
March 14, 2008 - October 5, 2022
His story began before he was born, during the time my Grandmother was ill. We had a tiny tuxedo cat show up at our back door, malnourished and injured where it had been shot with a pellet rifle. We took her in a did our best to give her a good home. Granny loved cats and just a few days before she passed the cat was well enough that it could visit and Granny petted it and loved on it in her final hours.
Almost a month to the day after Granny's funeral we were surprised by 3 new kittens. All 3 boys. One striped, one gray and one black. The stripped one did not survive. We raised the other two, the black one claiming me and the gray one was chosen by a friend. Mama cat was friendly with us mostly, but still very wild.
We moved 3 years later. I made the best attempt I could at transporting the mama cat to my new home, the buyers of the property even retrieving her from a tree for me. She fought me as I approached my truck with her and escaped into the woods where, as far as I know, was never seen again.
I've had many cats and they all were unique personalities, but I can say that by far, he was the best behaved and easiest trained of all of them. He was also the largest cat I've ever had at a little chunky 20lb at his peak and 48 inches from tip of front paw to tip of tail. He was a very independent cat and loved climbing on top of cabinets and shelves and watching from above, the higher the better. You can imagine what such a large cat can move around and knock over! As the years passed, he became more attached and became more of a lap cat. In the last couple years, he wanted nothing more than to follow me, and to be held and petted nearly constantly.
I've always known him to be a gift from God, as comfort for the loss of my Grandmother. Today I had to say goodbye. He passed peacefully as I held him. He was truly the best cat ever. Thank you Lord Jesus for your mercy and gift of comfort and our time spent together.