Today I lost my beloved furry soulmate, my 21-year-old kitty, Taboo. Those of you who know me well know what a huge part Taboo has been in mine and Vince’s lives and hearts.
This very special yellow cat wandered up as a stray and began living on the roof of our former house many, many years ago. He slept in the little gazebo-like structure at the top of our chimney at night and on the skylight above our master bathtub (a warm, sunny spot) during the day. It was quite a sight to look up from inside the house and see this large cat sprawled out over the skylight! At that time we had 2 dogs and a cat, and Vince put his foot down, saying “no more pets!” (At one point, we had 7 cats and a dog…) The kids and I were instructed not to feed him or give him attention. It was very hard, but we obeyed. Regardless of this lack of attention, this determined yellow cat persisted in hanging around day after day after day.
Then one day Vince was caught red-handed feeding this little guy…feeding him in the driveway just past our property line. His logic was that it wouldn’t encourage him to live with us if he wasn’t being fed on our property.
The next thing we knew Vince was saying we could keep this kitty as long as he (Vince) got to name him and as long as he was strictly an outside cat. Thus, our kitty was christened with Vince’s chosen name of Taboo (translation: “no more cats!”)
At that point, Taboo got to start receiving lots of love and attention from the rest of us, got to start eating regular meals in the garage (which had a kitty door to the outside) and began having regular check-ups at the vet. He also continued to spend a lot of time on the roof.
Then one night a big hail storm came. Many windows, skylights, windshields, etc., were broken, and many roofs were severely damaged. Our skylight was broken. The next day the roofing companies were swamped with repair work. They came and laid a tarp over our damaged area as a temporary fix ’til they could schedule us for a replacement.
Later that day, I happened on a very strange sight–Taboo sitting on the window sill of our master bedroom–not on the outside sill, but on the inside sill! This totally “outside kitty” had come inside via the broken skylight. From that point, Taboo became an inside-outside kitty!
I don’t remember exactly when we converted Taboo into a totally inside kitty, but it seems like it was maybe 8 or 10 years ago. Also, somewhere along the way, I gave him a birthday of September 1st, based on the best guess of the vet. He was a healthy guy for many, many years, with a big frame and weight of 15 1/2 pounds.
Through the years, Taboo became my constant companion, following me from room to room to room (kinda like a puppy-dog). He was my meal buddy, my laundry buddy, my little confidant (knowing all my secrets), my chemo companion, my dance buddy (I practice-taught him lots of line dances and asked his opinion about lots of songs.), my furry little soulmate I talked to all day long. He let me know he needed extra attention whenever he sensed me leaving the house for a while. He was not your typical stereotyped “aloof” cat. He became more and more affectionate and sociable over the years, very comfortable in a crowd–strolling right through the middle of a bunch of people when we entertained large groups at our house.
We thank God for the years He entrusted Taboo to our care. Please give your pets an extra dose of love and attention from me tonight, and count your blessings for the privilege you have of caring for God’s incredible little creatures.
To those of you who’ve spoken a kind word or shown affection to Taboo or asked about his well-being over the years, thank you from the bottom of my heart. His little 5.3 pound body now rests in peace.
With love,
| Taboo Puente |
| Mona Puente |