And Life Goes On

So yesterday we had the unpleasant and unfortunate experience of coming home from a leisurely walk to the park to find our beloved cat Buster dead. Gone. We're not quite sure what happened; he had exhibited no signs at all of being in any sort of distress. We had seen him just an hour before. Of course we didn't really look at him before we left. Who leaves their house expecting to find their pet dead upon their return? He had no pre-existing conditions that we were aware of. Of course. he must have had something wrong with him. Something caused him to die. A congenital heart condition that led to a sudden heart attack, perhaps. Who knows?

He was only three and a half years old.

I remember going to pick Buster and Scout up, from this family who lived off of a frontage road in the country just outside of Elk Grove. Their cats had a litter. They were selling. They advertised on Craigslist. This was back in the fall of 2017; they had been born on August 23 and now that they were weaned, they were available! And I had been looking for young kittens. I picked the loner black one who did everything in her meek power to avoid her brothers and sisters. And the one orange tabby who kept chasing her around and antagonizing her. He still did that, even on the morning of his death.

But he was Connor's cat, really. Connor's first pet. Scout was always standoffish with Connor; it was only in the last couple of months that she would even let him get close enough to pet her. Before, she would run away hissing and hide. But now she'll actually come out in the open when he's around.

But Buster and Connor has a special bond. Buster was incredibly patient around Connor, allowing the kid to manhandle him and move him around. Which, let's face it, Connor did a lot of. But Buster loved the attention. He thrived on it. Often demanded it. You could barely sit down anywhere without him leaping up to get in your lap, to be all up in your business.

And like his surrogate father (that being me), Buster loved his routines. Every night at bath time, Buster would station himself right next to the tub. And he'd sit there and wait for Connor to get out. He often got splashed, or petted with wet hands. He rarely came away dry. Sometimes he would get up and walk along the edge of the tub, towards the faucet. We half expected him to slip and fall in. Because let's face it, he was a little overweight and a bit of a klutz. 

He'd also be waiting for me, just outside my shower as I tried in vain to get out without stepping on him. Every. Single. Night. Turns out, he really liked to watch the water go down the drain. Well. Everyone should have a hobby.

And then at bed time, he would always jump up on Connor's bed and lay next to him, waiting for me to read them a bedtime story. Sometimes he would sit up there until Connor fell asleep, and then stand guard over him. And he'd purr, and purr. He was a loud purr-er.

He was a good kitty.

It's a shame Buster will not get to see the shiny new condo I have bought, that is now under construction. I'm sure he felt limited in the small apartment we are currently at. There's only so much room to run around, and so few windows to look out of. The new place would be something like a 60% increase in space. Which is a huge difference to a kitty! I'm guesstimating here a bit, as I didn't do the actual math. But now I kind of want to...okay it's just over 70% increase in space. There. Now I can sleep at night.

I've never lost a pet so suddenly and unexpectedly before. I suppose I can take comfort in the fact that I didn't have to watch his health decline over a long period of time. Didn't have to watch him suffer. Been there, done that. Not fun. But it was too soon, too soon. 

I had to let Connor sleep in my bed last night, because as soon as he crawled up there he started crying. He misses his cat. He said having the cat there helped keep the nightmares away. Maybe so. Cats keep Creepers away in Minecraft, so why not? Your first lost pet is perhaps the toughest, and especially so when you were so close.

And now it's just me and Scout at home. For awhile she wandered around the place, sniffing and looking as if she was looking for him. I'm not totally sure she understands what happened either. I'm not even sure she saw him after he was gone, as there couldn't have been too much time before we found him, and it was their normal morning nap times after all. But she lost a bother, and now we'll just have to comfort each other and keep on keeping on. And life goes on. 

You can the video tribute to Buster HERE