On a Sunday morning in Oct.1997 I awoke and while having coffee I looked out my back kitchen door window. I saw just a small gold & white tail protruding from behind my gas grill. I called my wife to the kitchen, then went out and found this beautiful little kitten, no more than 6 weeks old. He was dirty and had some grease on his fur as well. He might have climbed up in a car engine to keep warm the previous night. I held him close to my face to size him up and he meowed, put a paw on my face and licked my nose. That's a true story.
Thus began an almost 16 yr. love affair that ended peacefully on my patio yesterday afternoon. We had a great weekend with our beloved cat. We stayed outside in our yard all day Saturday. We grilled shrimp for ourselves, fed him raw shrimp, his favorite treats, and some of his favorite canned food. We started a fire in our outside pit at sundown. We played jazz, classical and ambient music which he always relaxed to. He did well all day in spite of being so sick. I believe he really enjoyed the day. I slept with him Saturday night on some foam pads and bedding we had made for him in our living room. He had been sleeping there for several nights.
On Sunday, I dug a deep grave in our flower bed next to the gardenia bush that he loved to sleep under during the day. He spent a good bit of the day sleeping there as well on Sunday. Sunday was a relaxed but somber day as we watched the clock and waited for the 3:30pm arrival of the vet, a very nice, compassionate woman. We showed her pictures of Moxie's life and told her a few things about him. She was in no hurry and seemed really pleased to listen. She had an incredible "bedside manner". We had soft ambient music playing and Moxie was relaxed on his favorite monkey blanket and animal stripe pillow. When we were ready the vet injected the sedative under his back skin. He was already almost totally asleep anyway. He drifted quickly into a deep, sedative-induced sleep with slowed breathing. AND THEN, after about 2 minutes he breathed his last breath without needing the final shot. His heart was so worn out he didn't need it. He truly died in his sleep. He had no release of bladder or anything else. He spared me having to clean him one last time even though I would have gladly done so. The way it happened was peaceful, in an environment and surroundings he knew so well. Words can hardly describe how much we loved and enjoyed sharing life with this cat.
He left mighty big paws to fill and a mighty big hole in our hearts. Moxie and me sort of grew old together. I really appreciate being able to share this here and being indulged by you nice people. Our pain is no greater than any you've experienced. Simply put, we all just love our cats. I'll end with a poem I quickly wrote for him over coffee Saturday morning. The pic of us lying down on the patio was taken about an hour before he died.
TO MOXIE –MY GOLDEN BOY
You’re crossing the Bridge my golden boy…
May your future Days be filled with joy.
You can play with Mason, Murphy and Miles…
Oh, how you guys gave us some smiles.
We miss them all, but I’ll miss you the most...
“You were the Best” I’ll gladly boast.
I hope to see you at some future time…
So you can follow me around and think “he’s mine.”
Your mama teased us about “Man-Cat love”…
But I know you were sent from Heaven above.
Thanks for 16 years of being my friend…
It breaks my heart that it’s come to an end.
You’ll always be with us in mind and heart…
In that way, we’ll never part.
We loved you Moxie, I’m sure you knew…
And we’re blessed to know you loved us too.
Thus began an almost 16 yr. love affair that ended peacefully on my patio yesterday afternoon. We had a great weekend with our beloved cat. We stayed outside in our yard all day Saturday. We grilled shrimp for ourselves, fed him raw shrimp, his favorite treats, and some of his favorite canned food. We started a fire in our outside pit at sundown. We played jazz, classical and ambient music which he always relaxed to. He did well all day in spite of being so sick. I believe he really enjoyed the day. I slept with him Saturday night on some foam pads and bedding we had made for him in our living room. He had been sleeping there for several nights.
On Sunday, I dug a deep grave in our flower bed next to the gardenia bush that he loved to sleep under during the day. He spent a good bit of the day sleeping there as well on Sunday. Sunday was a relaxed but somber day as we watched the clock and waited for the 3:30pm arrival of the vet, a very nice, compassionate woman. We showed her pictures of Moxie's life and told her a few things about him. She was in no hurry and seemed really pleased to listen. She had an incredible "bedside manner". We had soft ambient music playing and Moxie was relaxed on his favorite monkey blanket and animal stripe pillow. When we were ready the vet injected the sedative under his back skin. He was already almost totally asleep anyway. He drifted quickly into a deep, sedative-induced sleep with slowed breathing. AND THEN, after about 2 minutes he breathed his last breath without needing the final shot. His heart was so worn out he didn't need it. He truly died in his sleep. He had no release of bladder or anything else. He spared me having to clean him one last time even though I would have gladly done so. The way it happened was peaceful, in an environment and surroundings he knew so well. Words can hardly describe how much we loved and enjoyed sharing life with this cat.
He left mighty big paws to fill and a mighty big hole in our hearts. Moxie and me sort of grew old together. I really appreciate being able to share this here and being indulged by you nice people. Our pain is no greater than any you've experienced. Simply put, we all just love our cats. I'll end with a poem I quickly wrote for him over coffee Saturday morning. The pic of us lying down on the patio was taken about an hour before he died.
TO MOXIE –MY GOLDEN BOY
You’re crossing the Bridge my golden boy…
May your future Days be filled with joy.
You can play with Mason, Murphy and Miles…
Oh, how you guys gave us some smiles.
We miss them all, but I’ll miss you the most...
“You were the Best” I’ll gladly boast.
I hope to see you at some future time…
So you can follow me around and think “he’s mine.”
Your mama teased us about “Man-Cat love”…
But I know you were sent from Heaven above.
Thanks for 16 years of being my friend…
It breaks my heart that it’s come to an end.
You’ll always be with us in mind and heart…
In that way, we’ll never part.
We loved you Moxie, I’m sure you knew…
And we’re blessed to know you loved us too.
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May Moxie now rest in peace. 
