Journal AB3A's Journal: Requiem for Wally the Fat Cat 1
For the last nine years, my wife and I have cared for a wonderful orange tabby cat we formally named Walter, but whom we affectionatly called "Wally the Fat Cat". He was. This cat was always on a diet.
Unlike so many housecats, this one actually sought you out to greet you. He was even nice to total strangers. He discovered us at the Fredrick Maryland animal shelter. I mean that most sincerely. He hopped up on my shoulders as if we were old friends and he was so pleased to meet me. The shelter estimated his age between three and five years old.
We soon discovered that he had once been someone else's pet. He clearly knew what a can opener sounded like.
We brought him home with us to our farm. As time went on, each of our three children introduced themselves to him. He was patient. He was understanding. He never got angry with our kids suddenly --despite understandably ignorant treatment from them which should have upset him quite a bit. Wally would escalate slowly. When she was two, my daughter Abby pulled his fur. We warned Abby. Wally was patient. She wouldn't leave him alone. He growled at her. We moved her. She returned and pulled his fur again. Wally hissed at her. Again, I moved her and scolded her this time. Abby still didn't understand. She returned a third time and blocked Wally in a corner. Wally, with little else to do, swatted her on each cheek of her face. Abby was surprised and cried. I scolded Abby, not Wally. Wally had been more than tolerant. It wasn't just this incident, this is simply how he was to all of our children as they began exploring the world around them.
Wally wasn't much of a mouser, he preferred to catch rabbits outside. But he did his duty where it counted. Once a bat strayed in to the house and Wally caught it with a well timed mid air leap. Thanks Wally. It would have been hard to shepherd that bat back outside...
Wally was cuddly. His fur was nice to pet, and he made sure we knew that. He'd spend loads of time in our laps while we relaxed in the sun room, watched TV, or nursed our kids.
I miss him. My six year old son is heartbroken. Wally, despite his diet, got feline diabetes and became anemic. He was losing weight. He wasn't moving around much. Toward the end, he wouldn't even eat all of his food (very unusual for him).
It was hard. My Wife and I had to have him put down. We buried him near a tree where he often lurked. RIP Wally...
my deepest condolences (Score:2)
i have an orange tabby named spot and he sounds a LOT like wally. he greets me at the door every day, lives for food, and is just the sweetest thing. i can't even think of the day when he's gone.
my condolences.