Thursday, July 2, 2015

Celebrating Cinder

Today would have been our boy's 20th birthday. Now it is two days since his death. Instead of feeling sad we are going to celebrate his life today.

He came into our lives when the Man picked him (the only pet the Man has got to pick to date). I wanted the orange tabby to be Shere Khan to our Bagheera, but Man wanted this 3 month old black cat. I didn't want to call him Cinder, that had been my grandparents labs name, but I lost that battle too. It took me weeks to remember his name, I called him Clyde, Mint and who knows what else. Finally, because he was so skinny, he became skinny Ninny, aka Nin. I rarely called him anything else. His Auntie K called him "Cindy Lou Who". Poor cat never got called his name.



When they wrote the lyrics "Everybody wants to be a cat" the cat they were writing about was Cinder. He had the life I would want if I was a cat.

He was a simple guy; he wasn't going to win any IQ awards, although once as a kitten after hours of staring at the fridge, one day he just removed all the magnets. He did it a second time and then never did it again. His memory seemed short so things just didn't bother him. He didn't get very upset (although he could give the stink eye) and let things go easily. Life would be easier if I could do that.



He was a loving guy; he left no lap unlaid on. There would be times were you just didn't want him on your lap and you would have pushed him off 3 or 4 times and then suddenly you would realize he was sitting on you. You would wonder why and then would realize it was because he had "stealth".  It was probably one of the few moments in his life he was quiet when he was doing his stealth ninja move to get on your lap.

A picture taken after a stealth move to my lap
He was a loud guy;  he sang a lot. The vet guesses given how much he talked he was likely part Siamese. He sang when he was hungry. He sang before he was sick. He sang when he was upset (like when having to be in the car). He sang if you closed a door.  He sang because he could. He sang and sang and sang. I am sure we will hear ghost singing in the coming weeks.  Until the last few years, when age took it away, he was also a very purry guy. During most of his love he would purr. It was the one thing I missed in his old age.

Bagheera left, Nin on the right

He was a tolerant guy.  He tolerated Loki humping him, then Gemini very aggressively humping him, and finally Hailey humping him.  In spite of this he could still be found snuggling them if they were where he wanted to sleep. He tolerated us dressing him up. In one favourite memory we had a diaper left by a visiting friend with kid. For fun once, we cut a tail hole and had him wear it. We got the Nin stink eye but nothing else.


He could be a naughty guy. His litter box habits were never perfect. He missed a lot. He peed outside of closed doors. He peed on the bath mat. He peed on the dogs bed. He sort of lived a lot of his life peeing where he wanted.



He was a pukey guy. Of all the pets we have ever had, Nin has been the one who threw up the most. In his youth, when he groomed himself well, he had a lot of hairballs. He also didn't always know he was full (see point about being simple) and often would only stop eating when he threw up. I would guess that at least every 3 days of the 19 + years of his life one of us was cleaning up his puke.

Bagheera left, Nin right

He was a peaceful guy. Except for a couple times where he just snapped and beat the heck out of Baggy, he was a calm, peaceful, and tolerant (see above). He just went with the flow.


He was Hailey's guy. While he tolerated angels Loki and Gemi, he and Hailey had a special bond. She believed him to be her cat. She wanted to play with him, although sometimes she was a little rough for his old bones. When the Man first got up 2 mornings ago, Hailey was the one who alerted Man to the fact something was wrong with her Nin. She was whining and nudging Nin and then, when Man moved Nin to a blanket to assess him, she laid beside him.  She was upset when we removed him from the house and searched for him when we came back. She will miss him.



These are just a few of the memories we have of Nin. I could write pages and page and pages.

I always use to say that Nin would have been the perfect cat for someone who lived alone. You never felt alone when he was around. He was good company. You don't realize the presence your 20 year old cat who sleeps 20 hours a day has in your house until it is gone. The house is a little emptier without him, but our hearts will always be fuller for having shared our lives with him for 19 years 7 months and 28 days.

To Nin - thanks for the memories.

With love the Lady and the Man




















31 comments:

  1. what a wonderful post for your boy.... our tears are running, but I think that's ok.... many many thanks for sharing your memories with me.... now I have your boy in my thoughts too... as the wonderful friend he was...
    easy rider

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  2. What a lovely tribute, he will be missed by you all of course, after so many years how could he not be missed but he has left you with wonderful happy memories, hold on to those.
    Lots of luffs and hugs to you
    Loves and licky kisses
    Princess Leah xxx

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  3. What a wonderful post to your boy. I know from experience it is hard when someone who has lived with you sometimes longer than even you have been married (dietzy) and then is gone, can be very hard. But I also try to remember all the good and funny time, and celebrate that we got the pleasure of having him in our lives, as I know you feel also. From time to time, we think we hear him, who knows....all our love sent to you today.....stella rose's momma

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  4. Such a beautiful post. Thanks so much for sharing such wonderful memories of Nin!

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  5. What wonderful memories of your Nin's life. My angel brother Scribbles was a singer too. They're probably having choir practice up on the Bridge right now!

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  6. What wonderful memories of your Nin's life. My angel brother Scribbles was a singer too. They're probably having choir practice up on the Bridge right now!

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  7. We are sure he would have wanted a celebration. What great memories
    Lily & Edward

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  8. I glad Man won out and y'all got Nin the stealth moving lap cat. He might not have had a high IQ but he was smart enough to win you over. Thanks for sharing him with us.

    Aroo to you,
    Sully

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  9. he sounds like quite a character that lived a full and wonderful life....we are sure you will all miss him so very much

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  10. That's a lovely tribute to a wonderful pet. I'm so glad you chose to celebrate his life and the beauty that was Nin. Memories like this are so good for the soul.

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  11. those are wonderful memories you have and will always have.

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  12. Nin....sweet boy...you surely did have a wonderful life full of love, laps, laughter and song. I love that you sang. So sweet and Hailey was your pal. Bless your heart. I know you are missed tremendously and send hugs to your peeps. I do hope they hear Angel Nin's spirit singing to them. Mom said their first cat made a few angelic appearances after his passed. He was very sick at the end Mom says he came back to say thank you for loving me...I am ok. Tell your peeps to keep their hearts opened for the visit.
    Hugs madi your bfff

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  13. Aw wow, these are beautiful memories <3
    Happy birthday Nin, the beautiful angel kitty xoxoxo

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  14. A lovely tribute post to Nin. He sure did have a long, happy life, so we imagine he left many, many wonderful memories behind. It seems a home is quiet when one passes, even if there are other pets in the house. They each have their own space in your life and in your heart.

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  15. Hari Om
    Fitting and loving. A memory worth the keeping. Blessings to you all. Hugs, wags, and whiskeries, YAM-aunty xxx

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  16. Very sweet post about your boy who ALMOST made it to another birthday in his long and happy (thanks to you) life. They are all such unique and special creatures - different habits, likes/dislikes, but one thing in common they all have is they leave a HUGE hold in the home and heart of those they've lived with when they become Angels. Purrrhaps Nin will leave you a signal soon that he's doing JUST FINE where he is now........keeping an eye on his best pal Hailey and everyone else...........

    Love, Sammy and Mom Pam

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  17. Oh, this is such a precious postie!!!! Oh Nin, I wish you lived here!!! (okays, maybe not..I'm not good at sharing..butts I thinks I would've shared with you!) So many sweet memories and snuggly thoughts..I love it! You were one pawsome kitteh Nin, and I hopes you knows you are dearly missed
    {{{hugs}}}
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  18. What a wonderful birthday post full of love for your Nin. I am forever amazed at how much they fill our lives and leave such a hole when they are gone. You have so many years of memories to cherish, Nin had a good long life, so very loved
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel

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  19. Such a beautiful beautiful post!!!! My heart goes out to you........Cin lived a wonderful life thanks to you!
    It is a strange tie we share, my Angel Bobo's birthday was yesterday, (he passed a day after his 18th birthday in 2007), today is the actual anniversary of his death. Cin lived 2 yrs longer than Bobo, they were born almost on the same day and passed within days of their birthdays.
    I know how much it hurts and I wish I could be there to give you a hug.
    Sending much love to you!

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  20. Well...the Man picked a winner there. We know how much you miss him. He was quite a character. That was a great tribute. Happy Birthday, Nin.

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  21. Crikey ...... me and cats don't really go well together but I think even I would have learnt to LOVE Nin. What a wonderful bloke he was and how lucky were you all to have him in your lives. You sure will miss him. Happy birthday Nin and hugs to you all.

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  22. What a wonderful tribute to Cinder. Purrs.....

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  23. What a sweet post and beautiful tribute!

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  24. What a wonderful addition to the family he was! Wonderful to celebrate his life today!

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  25. Nin sure sounds like he wuz one pawsome kitty.

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  26. What a wonderful tribute! A very happy birthday to Angel Nin.
    Wally & Sammy

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  27. It's funny how, after picking a name for a pet, suddenly you figure out what you should have named him/her. Our first cat was named Kismet, after the girl who gave him to us (that was one of her nicknames), but after hearing the disco version of "Baby Face" (yes, the late 1970's) she became Kittyface.

    Beautiful post.

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  28. You have great memories... thank you for sharing them

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  29. We are so very sorry to hear about Cinder. Your tribute to him was beautiful, his life was so full of love. Purrs of sympathy and paws of comfort.

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  30. What a beautiful tribute. It sounds like he had the perfect life with you and left you with perfect memories.

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  31. Such a wonderful tribute to your Nin. We hope Hailey is doing better now without her cat.

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