TEVYE
Rescued: 12/31/2006
Passed on: 09/21/2009
Never a dull moment.
Never a day unloved.
I may not know the precise date when the tuxedo-patterned little kitten who would come to be my Tevye was actually born, but December 31st, 2006 – New Year’s Eve – was the day he came into my life.
Stranded on an abandoned downtown rooftop on a rainy, frosty night, he had no-one to help him, no-one to hear his mewling cries, and no-one to come to his rescue.
I clambered onto the roof myself, took him down, took him in, and made him a part of the household, naming him after his iconic association to the classic play, “Fiddler On The Roof”.
At first, barely a year old and straight out of the stray life, he was difficult and rambunctious, unaccustomed to living in a house where things are breakable and one is expected to play nicely with others. He was always nothing but sweet to me, but he did cause a lot of collateral damage and he & my elderly cat, Raisin, didn’t exactly get off on the best of terms.
After several months, he came down with a serious blood infection: a side-effect of what we discovered to be a cracked dental root from his rough-housing alleycat days. One emergency surgery, a week of antibiotics, and lots of tender care later, he was back on his feet and – having very narrowly averted an untimely end – just as spry as ever.
After that, he took to living in the house more readily, though whether it was due to his appreciation for a newfound lease on life or just finally becoming acclimated to indoor living I’ll never really know.
The fact remains that over the following 2 years, Tev became the sweetest, most charming feline I could ever have asked for. Nobody who met him could ever manage not to like him, and he loved everyone he met in return. An incorrigible attention hog, ardent explorer of cabinets and countertops, and avid squirrel-watching aficionado, there was nowhere Tevye wouldn’t go – especially any time someone came to the front door. So persistently fond was he of nudging his way past any visitor and out into nature that I had to buy him a special collar and get a series of vaccinations for outdoor pets so that he could enjoy forays into the wilderness of Southern St. Louis without fear. I would still never let him out of my sight, but in his mind he was a wild jungle kitty, forging trails into the great unknown.
Alas, all good things come to an end, some far sooner than they should. On Sunday night, September 20th 2009, I put myself to bed, the warm furry lump of Tev burrowing into the sheets beside me as he always would, kneading my leg and loudly purring his contentment for the world to hear.
The following morning, September 21st, I awoke to find him passed away in the sunroom, victim to no apparent violence, fright, or struggle whatsoever. It was as though at some time throughout the night, he had simply wandered into that many-windowed room in which he was so fond of sunbathing and wildlife-watching, laid down in one of his customary spots on the floor, and breathed his last.
I never expected to become so attached to that ragtag little stray I found, but the gentle, loving, handsome young man he grew into was truly one of a kind; a fact to which anyone who had ever met him could attest. There wasn’t an ounce of meanness in his body, and everything he ever did, he did out of affection and love.
I still expect to see him come running to the sound of a window sliding open, and have to stop myself from spooning food into his bowl at feeding time. It feels surreal and almost wrong to use the front door without having to either shush him away or sigh, shrug, and go fetch his collar so that he can come out too.
With time, the pain will supposedly fade, but right now I miss him terribly and my other cats seem perplexed and saddened as well. No doubt they can sense that this time, their erstwhile ringleader and unflappable playmate Tevye won’t be coming home.
Only memories, pictures, and trinkets remain to provide solace now as I grieve, and while I’ve never been a very religious man, I do hope with all my heart that somewhere between the Earth and the great unknown there’s a place for my boy Tevye’s dear soul, where he can nap in the sun, chase squirrels all day long, and lie down with a full belly on a soft pillow every night. It seems only fitting. He deserves that much and more for all the happiness and affection he spread.
I’ll never forget you, Tev – my gentle, charming boy. I hope that during your brief life, I was able to bring you even a fraction of the contentment and joy you brought to me.
It was a privilege to have called you friend.
Rest well.
With all the love I learned from you,
| Tevye |
| Daniel Allbee |