Farewell To Our Beloved Hobbes

This evening our cat died. He was playing with the kids, went to have a nap on the warm paving stones of the driveway, and passed away. His name was Hobbes and we loved him. He was born December 23rd, 1995 to Thomas and Gemini, one of 4 boys and 2 girls. He was a cream tabby with green eyes and long fur. He was born the night before I got pregnant with my first son, so I always knew how old he was by looking at Chris and adding 9 months. Every Dec 23rd we'd celebrate his birthday. The kids called it Christmas Eve Eve. This is our children's first experience of losing someone they loved and I'm setting a bad example as I cannot stop crying. I've explained that he's gone to heaven and that his body is still here, but his spirit is not. They wanted to know if it hurt, what's he doing now, who's going to feed him and look after him, and I guess all the usual questions. I'm glad I have some answers to give them and doubly glad to be LDS and therefore know that there are animals in Heaven. Hobbes really was a great cat. He was kind, and gentle and loving. A faithful companion if you were ever sad or lonely, and a great secret keeper. He was the truest friend anyone could ever hope for. He was slowing down for the last little while and we knew it would happen eventually, we just didn't want it to end. But he was an outdoor cat, a hunter, battled raccoons and dogs, caught birds on the fly, hunted squirrels, was 3/4 Persian and so realistically his life expectancy was no more than 8 years, and he lived to be 12.5.

So I am going to go and have another cry while Steve is away at choir practice and not here to see me, and tomorrow we'll have a ceremony and find a quiet spot for his earthly body to rest. And after that I'll have lots of memories of how much I loved him and how much a little cream bundle of fur that nobody wanted turned out to be the best cat ever.