Henry

Today is a very sad day at our house. Our beloved cat Henry passed away this morning. We rescued Henry in 2005 from a lady that was having surgery and could no longer care for him. I'd just suffered the loss of my other cat Tom a month earlier and I wasn't looking for another cat. A friend of mine told me about Henry. He was almost 6 years old, was neutered, good with kids, fat and adorable and just needed someone to love and feed him. I still wasn't interested and she insisted that once I saw him I'd change my mind. And thats EXACTLY what happened! I went to "meet" Henry and it was love at first site! He climbed up in my lap and all he wanted was love. I drove home with him on my lap in the car that day. My intentions were to keep him in the house but he had other plans! We live on 5 acres and the lady that owned him had already put him outside and he didn't want to be inside anymore. So we let him be outside (which is where my Tom was) He would lay on the deck in the sunshine, not a care in the world. As long as he was fed, he was happy. His last weigh in was 19 pounds! He was famous for bringing me "presents" and sitting at the front door meowing until I opened it and approved of his "catch" (field mice, moles, birds, and once a baby rabbit) After approval, he would easily take his catch under the deck and eat quietly (gross!). He really was the perfect pet and family member! All he ever wanted in return was to be cradled in our arms like a baby and loved.

I knew something was wrong when I hadn't seen him the last 3 days. On Wednesday, he was just laying on the deck in the sunshine and not moving around much. He was a bit "mopey" and I even asked him why he was feeling so down? He just meowed at me and I laughed and told Kacey that I thought Henry was feeling bad because she was sick. He usually greets me on the deck when I walk out to warm the car in the morning. I knew it was a little colder than normal the last few days but it wasn't like him to stray. I got the call this morning from Frankie while I was shopping with my Mom that he'd found Henry. I could tell he'd been crying and he said he'd passed away by the edge of the woods. There were no signs that he'd been hurt ... so we're assuming he died of old age. (Thats what I keep telling myself ) The hardest part was having to keep my composure until I was back to the car and could tell the girls.

Very sad day in the West house.