SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO BUDDY February 3, 2007

At last, after being the most loyal of friends, patient, gentle, beautifully present, Buddy has crossed over.  At age 17 after waiting for me to return from the hospital, he shared the fireplace/ living room sleeping area with me.  He needed company and felt good lying by the fire knowing I was next to him in a hospital bed.  A beautiful black cat, with the greenest of eyes and a white face with a black heart on his nose.  Buddy lived his 17 years graciously.  Never straying, he sat on the back step looking in.  we called him “Face” for awhile, unable to decide on a name, and his little face so often looked in at us.  Then, he became an indoor kitty.   Buddy was the name he really brought as it was what I called him over and over, not thinking of a name, but rather of him.  He loved his mother Marble…who also lived a long life.  16 years.  But she wasn’t affectionate toward Buddy and he felt some rejection and developed a compulsive  eating quirk…eating other family kitty’s food, as well as his own.  He’d even pull out his hair.  All messages that he needed lots of love.  His life was saved at age 5 from a urinary problem, and CD cat food became his regular diet.  He didn’t mind raccoons.  He sat on the deck watching them eat his cat food, never afraid of them.  In the last couple years he would use my bedroom door post as a cat scratch each morning, in order to wake me. Then, meowing, Buddy would jump up on my bed and wait for me to get up…never to cuddle and not to feed him, but rather to keep him company.  I really became aware of him in the last couple years after Marble died.  I realized how special he was ( is ) and tried to make up to him all the years he’d been more or less taken for granted, or rather, not celebrated.  After surgery I was Buddy’s room mate in the living room.  He seemed fine for a couple weeks, though thin.  He’d meet Carolyn, who was one of my caregivers, whenever she got up to assist me at night.  He’d meow for food and she decided it was time for buddy to stop his special low protein diet and eat everything he liked.  I wish I had always done that.  He loved meat and tuna and I was careful not to give him too much.  Now I wish I’d given him unlimited amounts.  He began to breathe heavily after I’d been home a couple weeks and once I was healing well, Buddy began to fail. Kit, my private nurse daughter, commented that he really was just waiting to make sure that I was fine.  After two trips to the vet to drain fluid from his chest, he again could not breathe easily.  Today Jeremy saw him and said, “He wants to leave.” …and tonight it was clear that he did..  We ( Paula and I ) made one last trip to the vet tonight and Buddy became calmer as I held him in the car and stroked his chin..  He made his transition quickly and wrapped carefully and lovingly in his towel by Brian, the vet, he lay on his pillow by the fire one last night.  He’s still my Buddy and yet now he can run with Shadow and Boo and Marble and even Barbaro and Tango.  I miss him.  I miss talking with him  and he always talked to me, and yet he’s free now and perhaps not too far away from here. 

I love you, Buddy.  Thank you for you.

Drift Inn Residents and Guests

BUDDY

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Margaret ^