In Memoriam - Milo the Cat, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Our dear, sweet, handsome, funny, furry, fun, adorable, lovable and loving cat, Milo, has died. He graced the pages of many of these blog posts over the past  years. I am so sad, I can hardly stand it.

For fourteen years he shared his life with us and asked only for our love in return. And he got a big dose of it  from us. We spoiled him silly and he loved every minute of it - so did we.

He had many talents - identifying and holding down the best warm sunny spot was oftentimes his highest priority.

He often "helped" with my blog - either as a subject or sitting on my lap with half his body on my computer, typing away - his accuracy was pretty poor, though - that's the problem with stubby paws.

He was mostly an indoor kitty but enjoyed occasionally being out and about if it wasn't rainy, snowy, or cold. He especially liked it when big human mommy or big human daddy was with him to provide comfort and protection in the big, wide world. He never wandered far, he always came home - he knew it was his home, where his humans were - he was fed, sheltered, and loved and he knew it and liked it. 

He enjoyed sitting on this big rock in the hot sun watching Amy work in the garden, sometimes writhing on his back to get a good scratch from the rock's rough edges.

He was sure-footed and fearless in walking along a narrow railing, never considering he might fall off - of course he never did fall.

But always, he was way too cute and could melt our hearts in an instant. He was my furry little friend and was a wonderful addition to my life. When I'd get home from a tough day at work he would jump up on my lap and turn on his little purr-motor and instantly my day's problems weren't quite so bad after all.

We brought him home 14 years ago - I  even had brown hair back then. Ian was only eight. And Amy was youngish and beautiful as ever.  Milo spent most of his nights sleeping curled up next to Ian, both of them growing together, side by side, into adulthood .

Here, he is about six months old, "helping" me install a new bathroom sink. Even as a tiny kitten, he always had that penetrating look.

But more than anything else, I'll always remember how much he loved to wrap his little kitty arms around his momma's neck and hug her dearly.  I've never seen a cat before or since that hugged like Milo. He was so sweet and he is so dearly missed. And yeah, maybe he was only a cat, but, he was our cat and we were his humans and that made him special - he was part of our family and we loved him.  The hole in my heart is deep from losing him. He made my life richer and I miss him so much. Goodbye, my sweet Milo, rest in peace.