Richard Parker was acting out of sorts when I visited my adopted family at Christmas. His mom was worried about his lethargy. He simply wasn’t his usual commanding self. I went in to see my buddy, and he lifted his head for few pets and gave me a purr. He looked at me through slitted eyes and nuzzled my hand. But his usual robustness was gone. This was the fellow who always gave me a purr-rumph and came quickly when I called, “Where’s my Friend?” He was the one who sat on his Stanford blanket between us when we ate spaghetti off tv trays and watched The Walking Dead. When I stayed the night on a cot in the living room, it was Parker who slept alongside me, moving up to bump my hand should I awake from a curious dream. He was his momma’s boy, but he made sure to care for me as well. And at Christmas he seemed to have simply caught a cold.
With the holidays and then rough weather, it was three weeks before I made it out to visit again. When I entered the house through the kitchen, something was different. Parker’s tuna dish was not there by the refrigerator, and his beautiful orange face did not come to greet me. I thought perhaps he was upset at my long absence. But then my friend’s husband came quickly in and said quietly, “Parker had to be put down on Friday.” The air left me. I walked into the living room where my friend sat on the couch. Her grief was visible on her face. She told me how his health had rallied after Christmas but then he fell horribly ill. A trip to the small town vet and then the state-of-the-art animal hospital yielded no answers. He was failing fast and the devastating decision had to be made. My friend had to say goodbye to her dear boy. I hugged my friend and felt the heartbreak. He was the one who cared for her when she was sad, and now he was gone.
For a few days, the other cats were subdued by Parker’s physical absence, and it would be several weeks before they came out to sit with us during our Sunday tv ritual. And last week Bubba took a seat on the couch.
But I know that Parker’s spirit is still there among them. My friends have heard his distinct call in the quiet of the house. I envy them that.
Living Life Forte 
Awwww
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Oh no! After my initial awww of the photo on the time line I read the post. 😦
So sorry to hear. ❤
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Thank you. Parker was a sweet fellow. He will always elicit an “Aww” from me.
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❤ if you'd like to write a tribute we'd love to include that on Katzenworld
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Would the tribute here, suffice? How do I submit that to you?
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This one would do! Drop me an email to marc@katzenworld.co.uk with the photos and text / link to this post in this case and I’ll add it. 🙂
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Added for the 1st of July! Apologies it’s a bit away but we had LOADS of guest posts / tributes in the queue without realising haha 😡
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Thank you. I am glad that I had a chance to send photos of Parker to you. I had a motherboard issue and lost everything. Unknowingly IOS cloud only saved photos through 2014. Only the ones I’ve posted or emailed remain.
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Oh no!!! Is there no way to rescue what’s on the hard drive itself? By putting it in a case and connecting it to a new PC?
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Sadly, this was a MacBook Pro 2016 issue. The way it’s built requires them to break things to fix them. I am still reeling. I have never had something like this happen before. But now I am armed with a very good backup drive.
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Hopefully he is looking over my Jamima who. Tossed the bridge about 6 weeks ago. So sad when our companion is no longer physically present.
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They are our blessed friends. Please accept my sincere condolences for your parting.
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I am so sorry, he was a handsome boy.
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He was very well-loved.
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Very sad to hear about the loss of Parker. So hard when you lose a much loved pet. We lost our lovely boy Lenny back in February and still miss him so much. We have just adopted two black kitties, Nera and Ebony and their brother Ziggy. They are in hiding at the moment and will need time to settle I think. I have a poetry blog here on WordPress and this week’s poems are about cats in case you have time to look? Have a good day, Sam 🙂
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I am sorry for your loss of Lenny. Parker’s owner just received two ginger kittens as a gift, and they are also settling in. I have a 19 year old calico, myself. Zoe has started having litterbox “issues” as of late, so I am fearing the decline has started. I did go to your blog to read your poetry.
Great imagery! And your Cypress cat photos are lovely!
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Thank you! Poor Zoe. Getting old isn’t easy. Give her a cuddle from me!
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Reblogged this on Rattiesforeverworldpresscom.
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