Yesterday we said a tender but emotionally difficult good-bye to our beloved cat, Woody. Almost 17 years old, he stoically fought his nearly year-long battle with chronic renal failure until the end. As you can imagine, we are simply
and utterly heartbroken.
My, what a journey we have had together since that Labor Day weekend in 1991 when he placed his little white paw through the cage at Town Lake Animal Shelter and rested it on my shoulder! It was all over in that one small gesture — both Woody and his brother Gus (named after Texas Rangers Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae in Lonesome Dove) were coming home with us. We learned alot about cats in those first few years, and Woody had
the patience to train us well.
We could never have asked for our first cat to be better than he was! He always used the litter box, never fought with his siblings, ate only his fair share, and was as gentle, wise, and good as you could ever imagine. Although he was not one to amuse himself with typical cat toys, string was another matter entirely, second only to the opportunity for a thundering chase up & down the stairs with his brother Gus — the two of them going at it with the amazing speed and agility only cats seem to have. While he didn’t particularly like being in a carrier or in the car, Woody braved through household moves to 2 apartments, 4 homes, and 2 states. He was there to see us through good times and bad, and home was wherever Woody was waiting for us.
As most of you know, Woody was quite a talker. We think he figured out that we weren’t smart enough to read his body language, and that “talking” was the only way we could hope to understand what he wanted. He spent alot of time perfecting ways to communicate with us, whether it was to turn on the water faucet for a cool drink, get a Greenies treat out of the treat jar, or just chatter at the birds on the seed feeders. He had a well-developed purr, smooth and deep, and combined with those huge gold-green eyes, he was well aware of his charm. Woody even enjoyed watching the nature channel on TV, and for some reason unknown to us, he was especially enamored with shows featuring polar bears and elephants.
Since we lost his brother Gus to acute renal failure 10 yeas ago, Woody always slept with us in our bed. He liked to “spoon” with us, but his favorite spot was between the pillows, carefully chosen so that he could receive the proper amount of attention from us both and we would be within reach of his ability to give us “love bites” on the nose or chin. Bedtime was a happy time, and as soon as we threw back the covers to get in bed, there he’d be, launching himself up & over the footboard to claim the space he so rightly deemed was his. To us, Woody was and always will remain in our hearts as The Best Cat Ever.