Jay (?-2007)

Last week, we had to put our cat Jay to sleep. This came rather suddenly and it's been a shock. He is certainly missed by a lot of people who knew him.

I used to say that Jay was an odd cat. He loved water and routinely licked up the water in the bath after a shower. He wasn't very graceful and would sometimes miss getting on the bed on the first try. He wasn't good about getting it in the box, either, but I spare you those details.

We never knew what to say when people asked us how old he was. He'd had a few owners before us and seemed to be eternally eight years old. Since he did pass so many hands, we used to joke that he had abandonment issues. I guess this gave him an air of mystery.

I feel bad now for the times when he got on my nerves. Like the time he puked on my head. It's funny now that I miss him even for that.

I don't think of him as odd so much any more. I think now I miss his quirky habits that made him Jay. I don't know if this is revisionist cat history or if it's an issue of you-don't-know-what-you-got-til-it's-gone.

Anyway, he's gone now and or home is a little lonelier now because of it.

Below are some pictures with Jay that will give you a tiny glimpse into what life was like with him. Thank you to Paul for the picture at the beginning of this post.