There is an empty spot underneath our wood burning stove tonight. Tobias the Cat, our brother and cat correspondent, passed away on Nov. 16 at around 15 years old.
Tobias was a feisty guy that survived car accidents, dog attacks, and being handled by the children in his house to live a long, comfortable life. He joined our family after recovering from an unfortunate encounter with a Rottweiler, where he lost an eye. The only danger he faced after his adoption was a 3-year-old boy who loved to pick him up and carry him around. We will miss his late-night meowing as he prowled the house. He preferred dinner to be served in the middle of the night and was often insistent upon everyone keeping his schedule. It’s not like I had to get up. Tobias couldn’t see very well, his jaw had been broken and was a mess, and one of his legs, which had been damaged in a car accident, was not quite right. Yet he still got around well and would sneak outside whenever he got the chance. He would cruise the yard like a mountain lion, usually not making it far before he was caught and rounded up.
To help soothe his sore body, Tobias sought out heat like no other. In the winter he lived under the wood burning stove. We were amazed that he never actually caught fire. The smell of singed cat hair was not foreign to us. Tobias would snuggle with me and Olive, our other dog, or lay in the sun streaming in through a window, all in the search for heat. It wasn’t unusual for people to wake up from a sound sleep to find Tobias sitting on their face or chest, breathing his fishy cat breath. We will miss that smell.
Tobias wasn’t just some poor, helpless cat. He was an instigator. When new dogs came into our house he might take a casual swat at them from the couch when they walked by. He’d tangle with dogs 100 pounds heavier than him. Most took it with good humor. He just wanted to play. Tobias made quite a few large dog friends.
We modified a child gate by cutting a small hole in it so that Tobias, a notoriously messy eater, could eat in the master bedroom closet without his food being raided by us dogs. We can’t control ourselves — wet cat food is delicious. The only problem was that people had to step over the gate any time they wanted to enter the closet. I can’t tell you how many times people kicked that gate. I even heard a few bad words uttered. If you didn’t have your shoes on, that thing could hurt. We took the gate down but everyone still steps over it and when they do they are reminded of Tobias. Hope you got a warm spot by the fire, my friend.
Tobias would want me to mention that his friend Button is looking for a home. Button is one of the longest tenured residents at the HSTT shelter. Button doesn’t want to be homeless this Christmas. She’s a dog friendly 3-year-old grey shorthair. Check her out at hstt.org.
