Scaredy Cat, the ancient, crabby, trembly, stomping, yet somehow hopeful cat has left us. He wasn’t ours really. He belonged to neighbors who live around the corner, but for years he’s spent most of his time in Chris’s (and our) yard. Chris put in the 10 years or so it took to get him to the point where he didn’t cower if you glanced his way, so Melissa and I have been able to enjoy his dyspeptic, ever-at-a-distance company.
He was not one to sit on laps. He did not flirt or frolic. But he liked to sit nearby while there were knitters in the yard. And he had the courage to come closer if there were treats in the offing. In fact, in the last few months he’d actually started to demand a pet or two before digging in to his dinner. It took a long time, but in his later years he was as happy as he knew how to be.
He is buried under his beloved bird bath/water dish.
Our world feels diminished without him.