I can't believe it's been two weeks since we said goodbye to Robin (and it's been just barely a year since his sister passed away). I know that 18 years is a really long time for a cat to live - especially one who's had a terminal illness for ten of those years - but it still sucks, and we miss our little guy. He endured a lot to be here: daily fluid sessions, a variety of medications, prescription food. It was always on his terms though - he decided every day whether or not he wanted to cooperate. For ten years he did. When he stopped, we respected his wishes and knew it was time to let him go.
Thankfully, even though things are still pandemic-y here (and everywhere...uggh), we were able to be in the room with him, while wearing masks of course. 2020 has definitely become the year of "I never though I would have to do _____" and that is just another in a series of things I've added to that list.
Moving during a pandemic wasn't fun, either, but I was more worried about how he would react. He's made some pretty epic moves with us in his younger days, but we spent the last 15 years in Chicago. I'm sure he wasn't thrilled about it, but he was a total champ when it came time to load everything up and go.
Much like his sister, Robin liked to hang out with me when I was crafting....and he always enjoyed napping on the things I made. Even if they weren't done yet. He was often scarce during the summertime in favor of being passed out for hours in a sunbeam, but come winter, he was all about the snuggle. He loved to be hugged and if you did it just right, he would cling to you like a koala bear and smash his face into yours while purring like crazy. It was the best feeling in the world.
Much like his sister, he enjoyed being on, under, near or around my knitting projects.
Laying on freshly blocked projects was mainly Tilly's thing, but everyone once in a while, Robin would give it a try.
Mainly, he preferred the bin of unwashed handknits.
Robin was also quite the fan of cross stitching...don't let that grumpy face fool you.
Occasionally he wanted in on the action when I was spinning...
But mainly he wanted to "help" when I was putting a new warp on the loom.
He also fully supported my sewing endeavors.
Sometimes, he even got to nap on the things I sewed.
He wanted to be anywhere the sun was, and in our previous apartment he had a schedule of where he would nap throughout the day to follow it (here's where he would usually start).
In our new apartment, he preferred to sleep under this small end table (which we dubbed "the castle") which was next to the sliding doors. He could keep an eye on the birds and squirrels and whatever leaves happened to blow by, all without having to move a muscle.
As he grew older, he adopted some odd (but cute!) habits. In his sleep, he would start chewing on the blanket he was laying on, only to get it stuck on a tooth.
He also liked to sleep on the edge of the couch - unfortunately, in his sleep, he had a habit of falling off, so we would try to gently push an ottoman over to prevent that. Occasionally I would get caught, but sometimes he didn't notice.
And if I thought he was a messy eater when he was young (which he was), that was nothing compared to his golden years.
He wasn't as much of a couch hog in the new apartment, and seemed to prefer to floor for most of his napping needs. I think some of that had to do with his limited ability to jump up (he had a very arthritic hip) as well as his propensity to fall off. Plus, the carpet in our new apartment is quite plush and nice to lay on...he actually preferred it to sleeping on our Casper mattress, if you can believe that.
It's really weird to not have him around, or any critter for that matter. The house is very quiet. I find I am waving and talking to neighborhood cats (in yards, windows, etc) even more than ever before, which I didn't think was possible.
Robin is sorely missed, along with his sister. I hope they are goofing off or napping somewhere together right now. Goodnight my beautiful boy.
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