Happy Birthday, Cat...Cats.

So yesterday was Scout, the cat's, fifth birthday. She dutifully posed for this birthday photo, or at least sat still just long enough for me to fire off a shot. And of course, she used to have a brother, Buster, who should have turned five as well.

I had gotten them in November of 2017, from a family living in an old single story ranch style house off of the frontage road of Highway 99 near Elk Grove, with a long narrow gravel driveway and a distinct lack of exterior lighting at night. The family's cat had had a litter some six weeks prior, and had advertised kittens for sale on Craigslist. Yes, my cats were Craigslist finds. I picked the dark colored female kitten who standoffishly kept to itself away from the rest of the litter, and the orange boy who kept tagging along after her like a lovesick puppy. They seemed destined to be a pair. 

So I took them.

Thus started several years of cat ownership, for which Connor was delighted at least in the fact that Buster took special interest in him and they soon became best buds. Unfortunately in March 2021, on a unremarkable spring day at the apartment in which we resided at the time, Buster suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. Connor and I had gone to the park for an hour or so, and when we came back he was just laying on his side next to the bed. Connor didn't know what had happened at first, as he went and knelt down beside his friend to pet him hello. After a moment he said something to the effect that Buster was lying quite unusually still. I came in to look, and saw that he was gone. 

It was a shock for both of us, to be sure, and a traumatic experience for young Connor. His first experience, really, with death. 

This is the last picture I took of them together, about 10 weeks before Buster passed. Just after the New Year, in fact. I would have taken more towards the end, had we had any foreshadowing of what was to come. You just never know how much time you will have with a pet. Come to think of it, the same applies to humans as well. Although by comparison, our time with each other as humans is likely to be much longer than the average lifespan of a house feline, you never really know when the last moment you spend together with anyone may be.

What a tough lesson for a seven year old to learn. 

In any case, yesterday was Scout's...and Buster's birthday. I can't say we did anything more special than the normal routine of eating, sleeping, and pooping. Well, that's her daily routine anyway. But in defense of my lack of party planning, cats don't really have any concept of birthdays anyway.

We did, at least, watch the YouTube tribute I made for Buster. Or at least I watched it. Scout really paid little attention, as cats will do.

Oh well. Happy birthday, Scout. And to Buster as well, wherever his spirit may be.