Percy passed away peacefully in his sleep at 4:30 this morning, Sunday February 3rd. Percy had his routines and he was in his favorite sleeping spot at the top of the bed. I've never had a cat pass away naturally and it's very beautiful, at least I hope it was for him.
Percy was 6 years old when we adopted him from the Connecticut Humane Society on April 14th, 1999. The form from the society placed him at 5 years old but our wonderful vet changed it to 6 years. So Percy graced us with his presence for 9 years and lived for about 15 years.
In 2003, he made the trip cross-country on the back seat of the mini van. He took the trip the best. Toward the end of the trip we were all getting a little bratty. In Arizona, we had to move the bed to extract all the cats, including Percy.
Percy was getting around well, but walked with a hitch because of his arthritis and "shot" knees (he kept his back legs straight most of the time.) I'll miss his squeaking at 6:37am (a very good little alarm clock) for morning feeding. Aww, last night I needed to blend up Cappuccino's food so I made a smoothie for all the cats. Percy did love smoothie day.
My friend Cherie reminded me of a game we used to play in the younger years: "I'm gonna getcha little Percy!" I'd say that line and he'd squeak and race off like a bunny rabbit until he stopped/I caught up with him and pet-pet-petted him. He did love a good game of string too, although it was mostly an upper body workout in the later years. Thank you all for the heart-felt condolences and for sharing your own experiences of your furry companions.
I'll miss seeing Percy in his favorite spots, his favorite routine. After eating, making his way to the living room and then to the futon for a morning snooze. I didn't see his daily routine, but would come home early some days to see him snoozing in a sun spot in Larry's sunny office. The days I was later, he would be waiting by the food bowls and greeting me with a squeak. Or he would already be on the futon again because I was really late and Larry had fed the kitties. Evening hours he would make at least one trip back to the kitchen for crunchies, then back up the stepped containers to the top of the bed, down to the litter boxes and water in the master bath, back up again, not always a restful night.
Percy didn't have much that was "his". We just all lived together and made accomodations for each other. He was a definite presence who is missed. Thank you, Percy.
Here's some links to some Percy stories:
