Horsie was born in the closet, in the room we call the library...he had three siblings...2 boys and one girl..I picked him, from the start. I am told that I began carrying him around the house, even before his eyes were open, I don't remember that part..my father had just died, the 11th of June, and the kittens arrived on the 29th of that same month. He and I, were not close, and with his death, we never would be...that made his death, a very hard thing, so that summer, is a blur...the kittens helped.
In October, 1997, my elderly cat, Megan had to be put to sleep, she was 18 (as near as I could figure) I had rescued her, from the Animal Tech. School that I attended...she was the last cat to go...when she died, I swore I would never l love another cat like I had loved her. So I was resistant to the charms of the gorgeous, green eyed kitty, for, at least, a couple of weeks. He knew I needed him, and he was always there for me. Horsie began to follow me when I went outside, to work with the roses...and he always stayed so I was within sight...sometimes I couldn't see him, but he always moved, when I did, at times, complaining bitterly, I think he wished I would stay in one place, I believed I disturbed his naps.
I started taking pictures of him, when I took pictures of my roses, since he was always there...and soon people began to complain if I didn't post his picture, when I posted my rose ones...He was a very photogenic cat.
We had a party, when he was about a year old. He spent the entire time on the roof, by the chiminey, glaring at the people below, while his mother, Fuzz stayed on the patio, in the midst of the people, gorging herself on the food they offered to her...she ate so much, I thought she would be sick. Roast beef, and Ham, and Tuna Fish....I had a friend from California, who had come to the party, with his partner so they spent the night, in the guest room, on the bed that we called the 'Horsie bed' as that is where he could often be found sleeping. I found out later, that Horsie had spent the night, outside, on the window sill., and whenever David would look..Horsie was there, looking at him, in outrage, that he was sleeping, in 'his' bed ! Horsie, was never good at sharing his things... at least, not with anyone other than me.
One night the bed I was using, collapsed, so I started to use his bed. At first, he didn't like it, he would try to crowd me out, and he was good, I often told him, 'If I fall, and hurt myself, I am going to have to beat you' (he knew that would never happen, it was an empty threat) he sprawled out on that bed and took up as much room as a person, I was in awe, of his ability, he was an elastic cat. I think he finally accepted me there, I was still using the bed a couple of years later..he started to use the broken bed when he got tired of me in his bed...(the other bed, will never be repaired, and I am going to get rid of it, as I can't look at it, without being very sad) anyone want a Queen sized Sleigh Bed?
Whenever I let the Horsie outside, I told him, to watch out for cars, doggies, and bad people...it became a mantra that was repeated, by me, and by my friend, Karen, when she would take care of him, when we were out of town. He was never around dogs, and always warned about them, so the jingle of tags on a collar, sent him in search of cover. One day, a couple of weeks ago, his eyes widened, and he went underneath the car...at first, I couldn't see, what he had, but there were two dogs, running in the field, without being with a person, I had never seen them before...he wanted nothing to do with them. I praised him, for being a smart cat.
He was inside 90% of the time..mostly in the same room with my husband, and me. And when I would leave the room, he would usually follow me, within minutes..and when he would come to join me, I would say, "Oh there you are!" The sight of him, always made my heart soar...if he had been a human man, my marriage would have been in tatters. Lately he had become enamoured of treats, he had never cared for them before..but now he loved them, and the place he liked to have them, was on the bed..as a consequence, there were always crumbs from them, that would make it, to the sheets. (a small price to pay) He would argue with me about the number of treats that he was given...I would dole out the amount I thought he should have and tell him later, you can have more of them, later...he would leave the room after much grumbling, only to return, five minutes, later..and he would look at me in such a way, that I knew what he was thinking...'You said later, so here I am..where are the treats?' I always gave him more of them. This was the routine, until I asked Phil, how many should I give him at a time? He said, "17...they are small" so it became 17 of them, and often, Horsie was satisfied by that number.
I told him every day that there were not many kitties, that were loved as much as he was, that he had people, all over the world, that adored him...he looked bored, I am not sure, if he believd me. I called going outside, a photo op. And he did seem to pose, don't you think?
It has been a week since he has been gone....I miss him terribly and I will always love him. and it means more than I can say, to know that so many of you, adored him too. A friend of mine, came to the house one time, and she wanted to meet, the famous Horsie...so I took her back to his throne room and there he was, sleeping, stretched out, on his bed, and she said, "Oh, he is bigger than I imagined!"
This message was edited Jul 11, 2008 3:50 PM
