Goodbye, my friend

Random Observation/Comment #609: I guess we’re no longer cat owners. It’s all rain clouds.

I’ve never really had a cat or dog growing up because of my parents’ allergies, and probably also to save me from the eventual pain and void of a loss companion. Man, it sucks. It sucked that it was so fast. It sucked we selfishly just wanted more time, but we knew it was the right thing to do when we valued his quality of life.

It sucks that Henry was literally the perfect orange tabby cat. He was our friendly Garfield with an endless appetite, soft cuddly purr, witty banter, and quirk for smelling your breath to say hi. He didn’t really chase anything when I met him, but if there was an un-monitored roast chicken or pork chop, he’d run like the wind.

Working from home used to be impossible because he’d find any opportunity to sit on your lap and look up with those squinted winky eyes just to let you know it’s probably time to take a break and scratch behind his ear. It was the best stress relief after a long day at the office and with him around, we never felt alone.

If you looked at my phone’s gallery (before Evie), you’d only find pictures of food or Hencat. I took so many photos of him that I’d post them to say happy birthday to my friends on Facebook. We loved him so much he was in our cake topper and a part of multiple wedding photoshoots.

He wasn’t just a pet. He was my friend. I think he was also my therapist. I told him secrets and stories and I know he’d always understand and be there with a headbutt or mouth sniff. Sometimes I’d look forward to a date with Vinessa just to see how Henry was doing (TBH, I probably picked him up and hugged him before greeting her).

My wife and I joke that he was the reason we got together. There’s a bit of truth to that. I remember one of our dates sitting on her couch in the studio apartment just watching a movie with Henry on both our laps. There was a moment when I saw both of them lock eyes and touch foreheads. I thought to myself “this is not so bad… I could give up the traveling and settle down for more of this.” I imagined HenHen as my future child and I was not disappointed to find his mother showed all the same loving traits when we had our daughter. She’s still a wonderful Mom and wife, and is certainly staying strong for both of us.

Henry led an 17-year beautiful and peaceful life of Zen and simplicity. We will forever miss you, Henrik von kitten. You’ve changed our lives and showed us a glimpse of the family we have today. Goodbye, my friend.

~See Lemons Miss Henry