“Time spent with cats is never wasted.”  –Colette

I’m sorry to report that “our” dear sweet Poindexter had to be euthanized on Friday morning. I say “our” because he belonged to no one, and yet was cared for and loved by several of us in the neighborhood –spending his days like a hobbit traveling between four houses for meals and the best places to sunbathe. Abandoned by his original owners over ten years ago, he finally decided to be tamed by my friend (and landlady) a few years ago, and it was she who kept him in hospice for the last few weeks as he began to waste away before our eyes. The vet found no illness to cause his passing. He had simply come to the end of his life. When I last visited him, the light in his eyes was already gone and my dear boy was ready to leave. Thankfully, my friend found the courage to help him do so with little pain. I’ll miss his soulful eyes, his greeting me every morning for “2nd breakfast” and every evening for “3rd dinner.” I’ll miss him sitting nearby while I read in the garden and flopping that silly long tail when I scratched his head. His little plate sits empty on the doorstep because I haven’t had the heart to admit that I won’t again hear him step into the doorway to tell me that it is time for snack. He was a good boy: a very good boy.