Tribute to Thomas, The Best Cat There Ever Was.

The photo is Thomas and his best friend Sadie the hound dog. Thomas passed away last Friday and I am pretty torn up about it.

We got Thomas five years ago the day after Thanksgiving. We went down to Pet Smart to get a cat. There were lots of cats there that day as they were all brought in from their foster homes. My husband was looking at a really nice fluffy adult cat. May daughters were checking out the adorable kittens. Well I saw this half grown gangley grey tabby and we locked eyes. He and I just knew it was meant to be. I asked if I could hold him and he just nuzzled up. It was love for sure. Well I then told hubby to hold him and said this was the one. He said that he wanted the adult cat but took the gangley kitty I handed him. Ok he said we could have him. Then I walked over the kids and told them to hold this one. Well we took him home that day. One of the kids suggested Tom as a name. Nope I decided Tom did not fit..............he was defiantly a Thomas and so that is what we called him.

Thomas met our two dogs that decided to do what they had done to our last cat, bark and the kitty ran, it was their favorite game. Well so there they went and barked at Thomas. Well Thomas did not run. Not only did he not run but waked right over and looked the huge golden retriever right in the eye. The big dog did not know what to do about that! Thomas settled into the family really well. He would lie in wait for the retriever Casey and jump out at him, or pounce on him form the back of the sofa. They were soon best friends. The other dog Max just kept his distance and was afraid of Thomas.

Thomas would greet people at the door and loved to be picked up. If there was a lap he found it. we all loved him. At night he found a bed and frequently burrowed under the covers and curled up as a little bed warmer. He was my fabric inspector and would keep an eye on my sewing, quilting and other crafts. He loved knitting and wanted to help with the yarn. He also tried his hand at sewing and wanted to bat at the presser foot............that was the day I had to put him in the bathroom with the door closed.

Casey disappeared one day and never came back. Thomas was pretty sad to lose his dog friend. Last year my daughter got Sadie and she and Thomas bonded. You can see in the photo how they used to curl up together. When they weren't sleeping Thomas was attacking her.

Thomas got very sick a few days before he died. The vet said his red count went critical low. His last day I spent feeding him high nutrient cat food with a syringe and giving him water as well. He was so weak. Well the poor guy died at five that afternoon with all four of us there with him.

We will get another cat but it will never replace what Thomas was to us. I think he was a cat bigger than life. Always at the center of everything around here and not afraid of anything. He was the boss and ruled the house.