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Alex is Gone

November 24th, 2010

Our dear old cat Alex was put to sleep yesterday. He was over twenty years old with failing kidneys and terrible arthritis, and he could no longer stand up. He will have a special place in the garden under the Mimosa tree, and in my heart. He had been with me most of my adult life, lived with me in four different houses, and outlived several other cats.

Alex came to me as a tiny tabby kitten. A girl I worked with needed to find a home for a kitten: a female and the runt of the litter. I had two cats already in my tiny apartment and really didn’t need another, but my cat Annie seemed to crave the attention of another cat and Inky was pretty much a people cat. So I agreed to take this little kitten to be company for Annie.

Like some secret spy transaction, I met the kitten’s owners in a parking lot, and quickly transfered the little tabby into a picnic basket and whisked her home. Where I discovered she was a he, and while he was tiny, he was fierce! Spitting, biting and scratching he was in no mood to be friends with anyone. Annie was horrified. Inky was disdainful. I foolishly assumed with enough love and attention I could tame this fearsome beast. As the years went by, Alex did mellow a bit. I could carefully pet him, mostly just on his head and avoiding his belly at all cost. With quick reflexes I mostly avoided being bitten. He disliked most of the other cats. Only Muffy could snuggle with him- she would tuck in her head and ignore his hissing and growling and eventually he would settle down and give her a few licks on the head.

This runt of the litter bloomed into a huge eighteen pound cat with gorgeous markings. As he aged, his belly sagged and his back humped so he resembled a raccoon. Even in his old ragged state, he had a shadow of his former presence about him. The day before he died, he reminded me of this by sinking his remaining teeth into my arm- it was a hard bite and I was glad I had a heavy fleece sleeve to protect me! You old stinker, I thought. I miss him.

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