Today Lilly left with her new owner to go to her new home.
Lilly was my everyday companion for the past 3.5 years. We got her a few months after our two other cats died and I came up with a scheme to get a kitten for my grieving wife.
Two hours later we returned home with Lilly and Buster – forever changing our lives and theirs.
I never thought I’d give up my cats.
I’m an animal adopter – not someone who gives his pets away. I’m loyal to the extreme. I’m a “til death do us part” guy.
But then my wife died and my world turned upside down.
Now I am going on the road, which is no place for cats.
A few weeks ago my son took Buster home with him. They fell in love. She brightens every moment of his day as he does for her.
I never thought I’d say this, but I think Buster has a better life with Zack than she had with me.
What a wonderful thing that turned out to be.
Today it was Lilly’s turn.
Although we adopted the kittens for my wife, Lilly was my cat. She slept on the bed at my feet every night. She hung out in the garage with me when I exercised.
She woke up with me in the morning and came in (usually) when I called her at night.
We played “string fishing over the bed” every morning.
I fed her breakfast and dinner.
We played hide and seek together. If I surprised her, she’d hunch up like a Halloween Cat and hop off sideways in glee. She was my Squinchy Girl.
Lilly was never mushy like Buster. She didn’t like being held. She enjoyed being talked to, having her head rubbed and getting that special Steve scratch behind the ears but when she had enough she’d walk away.
I called her Tiger because when she was little she’d run around the house with a toy in her mouth growling deeply like a tiger. Then later, when she started catching lizards she’d prance through the house looking like a tiger carrying its prey.
She loved me and I adored her.
Today thanks to my new friends Jeremiah and Julie, Lilly found a new home.
When they learned I was looking for a home for Lilly, they immediately thought of their good friend. His cat had died a few years ago. They said he was a good man who needed a cat.
I was a good man whose cat needed a home.
It was an obvious match.
Lilly’s new owner came to the house twice. He asked all the right questions. He was clearly a cat guy. He spoke about food choices, flea medicine, how he would acclimate Lilly to his home before giving her indoor/outdoor access through a cat door and more.
He sat on the floor for nearly an hour to coax Lilly out from behind the couch. He played string with her. He even scratched her behind the ears – just the way she likes.
I knew right then, that he was our guy.
I gave Lilly a lot of extra attention and love these past few weeks because I knew the time to say goodbye was coming.
I know this is the best thing for her.
It’s a relief that she’s in a loving home with a man who will take great care of her and will cherish his time with her.
But even so, it’s so hard to say goodbye.
Goodbye my Sweet Tiger Lilly. I will never forget you.
