Celebration of a Great Life

Last week, Scout the cat passed away on the spot where he spent many hours of his life: on the laundry. This cat loved sleeping, laying, and sitting in laundry baskets, bath towels, or even just a sweater that had been tossed aside. One of his favorite spots was where Mark and Ali keep the folded towels on the second built-in shelf in our bathroom. I might have tried the spot, but, while it was a perfect nook for a 10-or-so-pound cat, there was just not enough space for a 70-plus-pound lab.

Waffle, Gladys, and I took turns visiting with Scout in his dying hours, giving him a wag of our tails or a good sniff. He paved the way for pets in this household, and we all appreciated and looked up to him for that.

He did things his way -- he took showers, he ate his food at his own pace, and he patrolled the grounds both indoors and out until the day he died. He was not the type of cat that tried to get credit for all of his contributions; in fact, not a mouse has turned up dead in the bathroom since his passing. Could it be that Waffle is not the great mouser everyone lauds him to be and that really it's been Scout all this time?

I wouldn't doubt it. Anyway, Scout the cat lived 15 years -- 5 of which were with me, 3 with Waffle, and the last 10 months with Gladys. We all have lots of energy, and I imagine we aren't easy for an old set-in-his-ways cat to put up with. But he never complained, and he served as a great role model and friend. We owe a lot to Scout and will never forget him.

Thanks buddy... We miss you!

Oscar