I’ve mentioned Louie the ginger cat before. He was a nearly 24 pound (10.8 kilos) ginger tabby cat, a real man’s kitty. You could wrestle him like he was a dog!
Louie came to me by way of the local animal shelter, where he did some time as a stray cat waiting for someone to claim him. But no one did, amazingly, and when I went to the shelter to pick another cat (the short-lived Freckles), Louie pranced and preened in a cage nearby, daring me not to fall in love with him. And I did!
As a former stray, he also loved his creature comforts, but he also loved the snow. If Andy barely goes as far as the door and Dougy carefully avoids getting snow on his feet if he can, Louie got right with it, sniffing, walking in it, catching up on the local cat messages other cats left for him to find.
Louie checks the fir tree for birds. Yeah, I shoveled a little path through the drift for him!
Inside, Louie filled the traditional cat’s role of helpful meatloaf.
Louie was a good ol’ cat! I was devastated when he died August 1, 2011 of lymphoma. Until his last day, he didn’t even act sick, then the only sign was he wouldn’t eat his supper meal.
Lovely tribute. I’m sure there is still a big Louie space in your heart next to Andy & Dougy.
True, but I’m fortunate to have lots of photos and videos of him to view.
He was a beautiful cat. I have a fondness for ginger and/or cream tabbies!
Me, too! I love my little Persians, but I’ll always be partial to a big ginger tabby!
What a cool cat! I am currently trying to find a home for a cat that looks very similar to Louie. I just think the coloring is gorgeous.
Though I have two black Persian cat brothers now, I still am partial to ginger tabby cats. Good luck finding a home for the cat you are trying to place in a new home.
Now Louie is my type of mancat. I like the snow too and would love to have a partner to talk about the snow messages from other anipals with. Dad shovels a path for me too…I am so sorry you’re no longer with us Louie. We’ll have fun when I go to the Rainbow Bridge. Kisses to you my man cat. Dougy and Andy…you two are terrific guys….just not snow cats.
(((Shoko)))
That would make Louie very pleased! (And me, too!)
I learned cats are notoriously difficult for hiding illness until things are pretty grim. I am in the habit of feeling my cats for lumps, any changes when I pet them, and felt especially bad I didn’t detect Louie’s illness. I felt a bit better when his veterinarian told me the condition manifested itself in lymph nodes were swollen but that I couldn’t detect that way. One of those ruptured, spilled infection into his body cavity, and that is what killed him, poor kitty. Even if we’d have detected it at that point, he most likely wouldn’t have survived.
One thing I find amazing about cats is how many diseases, really nasty and harmful ones, they can come down with. I see these old cats and come to think of them (cats in general) as durable. Not necessarily so.
Lymphoma is such an awful disease… Unfortunately even in humans you often dont notice it until its too late 🙁 anyhow! He was beautiful! Thank you for sharing this with us. 🙂
Beautiful cat. Definitely a man’s cat. 😉
As noted, he chose me. I’m a man, so…! LOL! 😉
What a handsome guy he was, and how lucky that you sprang him and gave him a great life.
He was so well-behaved and personable, I couldn’t believe anyone would fail to pick him up at the shelter after he was taken there by the animal control officer. After I had him about a year and a half, I even had his veterinarian wand him to see if he had a microchip. Of course, by then, I wouldn’t have given him up for anything! It turned out he didn’t have one. (Both Andy and Dougy got their microchips when I had them neutered. It’s an relatively inexpensive way to assure you have a good chance of getting them back if you lose them for some reason.)
Louie was a beautiful cat, Doug. Yes, cats can compensate and compensate until they crash. We lost our Mr. Beaucastel from auto-immune hemolytic anemia. Crashed one evening after eating his supper, resulting in an emergency visit to our local vet who referred him to a larger veterinary ER. Two transfusions later over that weekend it was apparent he was not going to make it, so he was euthanized and brought home for burial. He was 18 years old. Still missed. Always will be.
That’s exactly how it is. They live with us as family, and when they die, it isn’t any different than it would be if another family member died. I’m glad I had Louie for the short time I did, but had looked forward to seeing him live into his teens. He was roughly seven when he died.
So sad to hear that – my Mashka succumbed to Toxoplasmosis January 2011 – when she was not even 6. I know how “betrayed” one feels by such a premature death. At least we know, they died much loved and had a home!
How sad…! Yes, and we each learned something new about cats that we need to watch for or prepare for as much as possible. “Betrayed” is very much the feeling alright. Louie was a very active cat. I liked following him on his walks because he took me to some interesting places. Of course, he sometimes stopped and did cat things while under people’s windows, and that was embarrassing for me to be standing on the lane, looking suspicious! Ha! I =filmed some of those walk=s, both as videos and as still shots that told the story.
Louie looks like a big bundle of love. Sorry he died so suddeny.
Thanks! That he was, and when you have a 24 pound cat want to sit on your lap, you have to make sure you have a pillow over it for when he jumps up and lands! Ha!
awe what a sweetie … so sorry for your loss, I LOVE ginger kitties 🙂
Me, too! Though I wouldn’t trade Andy and Dougy for anything.