Good bye old friend.

 

Today I say good bye to my favorite kitty(shhh...don't tell the other two). Nearly nine years ago Daniel and I made a trip to the Saskatoon SPCA and picked out our very first kitty. He was solid grey. Daniel named him Skyreach, after the building where his beloved Edmonton Oilers played. Skyreach was a playful kitty. He loved to attack your feet under the covers, or jump out from behind corners and attack your ankles.

The only place he'd sit for his first car ride

While I was pregnant with Kathryn he used to curl up on my tummy. When Kathryn was born he would curl up on my lap next to her while I nursed her or just when I was holding her. When she was learning to walk he would jump out from behind corners and grab her around the waist. It always knocked her down. She'd yell at the kitty, get back up and start again, only to be knocked over by the kitty again. It was hilarious. When he was a kitten, he always slept on Daniel's pillow just above his head. When he got bigger he started sleeping on a hip, either mine or Daniel's whichever one was available. To this day, that is where he would sleep.

Skyreach with Kathryn

If you patted the bed, he'd come running from wherever he was and jump up on the bed and make himself comfortable. He could not resist the sound of the bed being patted. Skyreach was affectionate. He loved to sit on your lap and purr and when he wanted to be petted he was sure to let you know with a persistent nudging of his head to your hand until you gave in or tossed him off your lap.

Stretching after a nap

Skyreach was the best kitty to have around kids. He put up with EVERYTHING. In fact, he often simply asked for it. He has been ridden like a horse, sat on, rolled over. He has had his ears pulled, his tail pulled, fist fulls of hair pulled out and his tail bitten, and he just takes it all. When he's had enough he'll let out a little whine and then run away, but he always comes back for more. He LOVES to be around our kids, but when other kids came over, he would go and hide under our bed until they were gone. I guess he figured that because they didn't belong to him, he didn't have to put up with them. When we added a new kitten to our family about 5 years ago, Skyreach wasn't all that impressed with the new energetic kitty, put he tolerated him. Ranford always wanted to play wrestle with Skyreach. Skyreach would ignore his taunts for awhile, and then he would put Ranford in a headlock with his front paws and kick his had repeatedly with his hind paws. It was HILARIOUS! Ranford was just like the little brother teasing the older brother. Ranford never gave up, he just kept coming back to wrestle over and over and Skyreach would kick his but over and over. Over the years Ranford got fatter than Skyreach, but Skyreach could always kick his butt.

Couch Gargoyles

Skyreach or Niles?

When we adopted Niles and officially became the crazy cat house. Skyreach didn't even seem to notice that a third cat had been added to our family. Maybe it was because Niles was almost his identical twin.

It's been a fun nine years. To bad it had to end today. While Skyreach was outside sitting our our front step he was attacked by a big german shepherd. He put up quite a fight. But unfortunately it wasn't enough, the dog was just too big. By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late. I scared the dog away, picked up my nearly lifeless kitty, and felt him take his last few breaths and then I cried....a lot. I've never lost a pet before. Not that I can remember. I know we had cats when we lived on the farm, but I was really young. I miss my kitty. I wasn't prepared for this today. I called the RCMP and they came and picked up the dog, he wouldn't leave my yard and it was really upsetting the girls. Our other two cats were safe inside. But Ranford was up in arms at the window growling and hissing and jumping at the window. He would have gone out and taken on that dog if he had the chance. The RCMP officer returned the dog to his owner and told him what happened. The owner has since called me and apologized for what happened. He wanted to know what I wanted him to do. Did I want his dog put down? I told him absolutely not. The dog showed absolutely no aggression towards me, not when I went out to scare him off my cat, or afterwards when I went out to keep on eye on him until the RCMP came to get him. He just wanted to play, he wanted me to pet his head. I was in no mood. He offered to get us a new kitten. I told him I'd talk with my husband and we'd discuss it as a family and we'd let him know what we decided. I appreciated that he called, apologized, and offered to make it right, the best he could. I don't think everyone would have bothered.

Pretending that he wasn't trying to catch the fish.

I'm starting to feel better. Writing this out has helped curb the initial overwhelming sadness that I wasn't expecting to feel with the passing of a pet.