Tomorrow is the third anniversary of the death of Louie the ginger cat.
This is how he slept by my computer desk when I was on the computer. He was an affectionate cat, a cat happy to be with me, near me. He was a rescue cat his veterinarian estimated to be five years old when I got him. My only regret with Louie is I didn’t get to know him as a kitten. I bet he was a hoot! And exceptionally cute. I just know that.
When he couldn’t be outside, he liked to look out the back door, in this way. As a big cat, the settee was right sized for perching on the arm.
Louie came into my life because he was picked up in the northwest part of town by the animal control officer: Louie had a record! Two things came out of that period in his life: He liked to go outdoors and he became extremely stressed when I took him in the car to the veterinarian’s for care and shots. I don’t think his experience being caught by the animal control officer was pleasant.
Louie inspired me. This photo, for example, became one of several Louie photos that ended up on coffee mugs I still use.
Yeah, Louie hated TACO the tuxedo cat, a unclaimed cat still in the neighborhood by some miracle. (Andy and Dougy find him fascinating but scary.)
TACO came in and sampled Louie’s food. Louie was spitting mad.
My favorite photo of Louie, though, is one you’ve probably seen before if you pay attention to backgrounds in videos of the boys: Louie as Captain Me-Ow!
That photo’s on mugs, shopping totes, and a poster hanging on the wall behind my computer. That way Louie is always in my thoughts. He was good cat. A great cat.
Louie died on August 1, 2011. When I made the memorial video on the second anniversary of Louie’s death last year…well, here is the memorial video from last year:
It still makes me cry.
You WILL see Louie again!
That would be great!
So sorry about Louie, it is hard to say goodbye to our furry friends.
Thanks. That is so very true.
I’m so sorry about Louie. The great cats live in our minds forever. Ellie
Thanks. That they do!
I am so sorry for the loss of your sweet Louie and I know your heart and life is blessed with the boys, but still our fur kids who have passed on leave a hurting place in our heart.
Louie was a beauty.
Thanks. I had looked forward to having Louie for a long, long time even though he was about five when I got him. He is missed. Love my Andy and Dougy, but I still miss my Louie!
I will be thinking of you tomorrow. Take care of yourself!
Thanks. I thought by getting that out yesterday, I could ease through today a bit more easily.
I wish you peace, especially today!
Thanks. I’m working on that very thing.
((((hugs)))) I am so sorry. What an incredibly handsome mancat he was and what amazing memories you have. I sooo know how you feel. I lost my “soul kitty”, my Angel Bobo in 2007. I had found him as a stray at 6 mos old, so I also didn’t have him since kittenhood. He lived til age 18. Your video and photos are treasures. Sending you my most heartfelt sympathy.
I have hundreds of photos and many videos of Louie (most on YouTube). The comfort those gave me right after Louie died was immeasureable. I think that’s why I photograph and make so many more videos of Andy and Dougy that I did even of Louie. Already, I’ve had the fun of looking back at their kitten videos and seeing behaviors that followed them into adulthood. (Dougy’s bad habit of using furniture for scratching was documented and posted on YouTube in a video when the boys were barely 10 weeks or so old…!) I think this blog is meant to serve a similar purpose of documenting their lives more than mine. Louie and Freckles — she died shortly after I got her from the shelter, after spaying — are documented to some degree. Freckles came before I knew how to make videos with my camera, though. Too bad. She was a lovely little gray tabby with a sweet disposition and a huge purr! She would have been a natural for video.