Goodbye To Hobbes
Do you remember what you were doing 20 years ago? It seems like such a long time…I was managing a Wellpet Store in Redmond and we needed a store cat. It had to be one who was social, brave and people friendly.
With this in mind, my assistant manager and I went to the county animal shelter. It was one of the old, damp and smelly ones and the lone attendant seemed more interested in chatting on the phone thanin helping us, so we wandered into the cat room on our own to look around.
In a good sized room full of caged cats, the first thing we noticed was this kitten who had to be about 3 months old. He was brown tabby and white with enormous ears and he was making quite a fuss. He complained in a loud but squeaky voice while extending his arms through the bars, claws bared. I’m not sure if he was trying to grab us or wave us over, but either way he got our attention. Was he social, brave and people friendly? You bet! This was Hobbes.
For the next several years, Hobbes kept us on our toes at the store. We never knew what we would find when we arrived for work in the morning. Sometimes he would raid the cat treat department. Not content to have one package of catnip or treats, he would rip open several, and sample them all. I don’t know how many phone cords he chewed through, and sample bags of cat food would mysteriously find their way into the top platforms of the tallest cat trees.
But he was very friendly with the customers, avoided obnoxious children and handled rowdy dogs with a disdainful glare.
In 1991, when I left Wellpet, they had changed company policy regarding store cats. Someone on the staff had to be financially responsible for the cats. Since I had been paying his bills anyway, and didn’t know who my successor would be, Hobbes came home.
This second career required him to train all young dogs and cats in the household and he did it well. They learned respect and polite behavior in order to avoid his swift paw. One slip up and he would rat a tat tat on the top of the offender’s head. He never used his claws, just knocked a little sense into them.
We did break his habit of chewing phone cords eventually, but once we had a computer in the house, he discovered mouse cords were even better. I switched to a cordless mouse.
He enjoyed parties and had a great time visiting with the family on Easter. He made sure he got plenty of attention, quickly identified the most allergic guest and jumped on his lap.
He moved homes 3 times, suffered through many, many canine and feline housemates of all ages and sizes, and last summer survived 5 days out in the woods without a problem. This was an amazing feat for a cat with health problems who had never spent the night outside in his 19 years of life.
When he met Evergreenhiker! just over a year ago, there was an instant bond. The 2 of them had a special relationship and I know that it enriched the final year of Hobbes’ life.
These last few years, we’ve been treating Hobbes for kidney failure and heart disease. Basically, he was a very old cat and his organs were shutting down. Several times I thought it was the end, but we’d increase the fluids that I injected under his skin, change his medications and he’d rally.
One day, however, was different. He hadn’t been eating well, he was weak and he had that look cats get when it’s time to go. He didn’t protest when I gave him his fluids and medication and he refused to eat at all. He was sick and miserable. I was pretty sure it was the end, but Troy (the veterinarian I work for) was kind enough to meet us at work on our day off to confirm it. Evergreenhiker! and I took Hobbes on his last car ride, and Troy, kindly, ended his suffering.
We'll miss that old cat!
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