Maverick

Just so you know, if you don't have pets or are not an animal lover, then you will think I'm crazy with this post- a letter to my cat.  But, my beloved kitty, Maverick, was put to sleep on Tuesday and this post is really for me, anyway.  

Dear Maverick,

I can honestly say I’ve never met another cat like you.  You were something special.  I should have known that when we got you and you hid in the garage for a few days.  Or when you let me wrap you up in a blanket, put a bonnet on you, place you in my crib for my dolls, and feed you with a bottle.  Or all the times you killed rabbits bigger than you, rats, mice, chipmunks, and birds and brought them to us.  Or the way you ruled the roost.  You weren’t afraid of anything and you kept every dog you met in line.  They were all scared of you and I loved it.

He looks like the devil here, but this bad habit started when he was a kitten.  He LOVED getting fed with a bottle.

One of my favorite memories of you is when you would sit at our feet in the living room and just stare up at us.  Then, without warning, you’d POUNCE and attack our legs.  It was hilarious to watch, but not so much when you did it to me.  We would also never know when you would attack our hands just because we were petting you.  What a little brat, but what a precious brat.

Before he got really bony, he loved laying around like this.

When I moved away for college, I remember Mom and Jamie both saying they thought you were depressed because I was gone.  I was your favorite.  You tolerated pretty much anything from me  and wouldn’t take anything from anyone else.  You hated Dad and would do anything to make him mad- pee in the pockets of his pool table, rip up all his paper for his plotter, hiss and growl at him daily.  I still loved you, though.

You couldn't bring a box into our house without Maverick claiming it.

We knew something was wrong with you within the last year, before we found out you had chronic kidney failure.  You lost so much weight and you stopped taking care of yourself.  Within the past month or so, everything went downhill so fast.  I know you must have been in a lot of pain these past few weeks.  We’ve scheduled and cancelled appointments to have you put to sleep at least three times.  When Mom and I finally took you to the vet on Tuesday, it was like you were ready to go.  As soon as you were set down on the counter, you just laid your head down and let me pet you.  I never stopped petting you until well after you were gone, you know.  

It’s going to be so weird without you.  We’ve had you since I was ten.  That’s a lot of history.  This is the absolute worst part of owning a pet.  You would think it would get easier as you get older, but I think it gets harder.  You were the first pet we’ve had to put down that was really my own.  

You lived like a king and were treated like a king.  There will NEVER be another kitty like you, and for that I’m thankful.