Non omnis moriar

It has been nearly a year since our beloved Max passed away so unexpectedly. I thought it would be a good thing to memorize our #cat here.
Cats have always been my favourite animals. I love their beauty, independence and grace. Very special animals, indeed.
Max, a shorthair British, came to us as a 3-month old kitty. I can still remember going home with him, a tiny puff looking so shy and scared.
Soon he was not shy or scared anymore. The kitty was cheerful, playful and so curious! He explored the whole house, sometimes hiding in the weirdest places so we could not find him for hours because he was for example sleeping inside the sofa.

He grew up quickly and became a wonderful cat, very affecionate and dignified. Of course he still loved playing and had these moments of wild running around the house, hunting and sometimes making this eerie, a bit frightening noise, especially in the middle of the night as you may easily guess.
We moved three houses with Max. He never minded it and always got used to a new home quickly.

Max loved us all, though my daughter was his best friend and he spent most of his time in her room. However, he loved spending time with the family. When we were watching TV in the evening he used to come and join us. He used to lie down and sleep or watch us. As a very sociable and curious cat Max thought his obligation was to know what was going on around him. Thus, he accompanied us in everything. As you can see below, he even helped assemble IKEA Pax.

Unfortunately, last year he suddenly got ill. It was Tuesday noon when he had the first symptoms. We took him to the vet in the evening. The vet was upset after the examination. Max was given medications and was supposed to get better. But it got worse and worse. He couldn't move, his eyes were one big, unbearable suffering. We cried watching his suffering and could do nothing more despite the vet's best help. Max passed away on Thursday morning on my knees. He managed to crawl up to my son's room and died there. My son saw it and could not stand it. That was the most horrific day. We could not believe Max was gone, this loving, friendly, intelligent cat tht had been so full of spirit. I do not know who suffered most, our children or me and my husband. We could not stop crying.
On Friday I had to get my act together because I was going to have a dialysis as usual. I came and tried not to sob which was very difficult. But when the dialysis finished and I came back home, I totally broke at the door and burst into tears because Max had always greeted me on my coming home. And that evening he was not there. No "hello" meowing, no nothing. My husband came up to me, held me and we both cried.

Max will remain in our hearts forever. We miss him like hell. Though I hope that he is happy behind the Rainbow Bridge and soon will send us another furry friend. Because home without a cat is not complete.