Robert Frost penned it best when he wrote, “Nothing Gold Can Stay”. Today was a sad day in our family. We helped our sweet 16 year old orange tabby cat, “Punk”, pass with dignity as cancer began to impact his quality of life.
Punk came into my life in 2005, a kitten in a litter of a stray barn cat at the end of my Junior year of high school. He later came to live with me when I began veterinary school in 2009. Megan and I married in 2012 and we have loved him together since then.
Punk’s parking spot was directly between our two pillows, nestled with his rear to the headboard. He loved to sit on the bed at night as we read or watched a show. As we laid down to sleep, he would get into his spot, outstretch one paw and place it on one of our hands. He particular adored Megan, and would cuddle up with her on the couch to read or spend a lazy afternoon napping with her.
When our dog Tucker came into our lives a couple of years ago, Punk enforced the “no dogs on the bed” rule. Every morning as I first woke, the dog would get up from his bed on the floor and put his front paws up on my side of the bed for a head scratch. Punk would come over and swat at the dog to enforce the rules. Tucker just stretched his head way back to avoid the jabs, keeping his paws on the edge of the bed. It was a funny way to wake up every day.
Punk loved to play with rubber bands, holding them in his teeth, and pawing at them with his front paw, stretching them, and popping himself. He enjoyed being brushed and would come running for the words, “soft food, soft food”. Ice cream is consumed in a coffee mug at our house, and he always came running when he heard spoons clinking the bottom of a mug. House rules state that the oldest animal gets all the forbidden treats. Salted caramel was his absolute favorite. At Christmas, he preferred to drink the water from the Christmas tree stand – “tree tea” we called it. He loved his mouse babies, and would tuck them under his chest like a hen hatching her clutch.
The sweet old man brought so much joy and we are sad to end the fun together. Dignity is so very important and means so much to us as pet owners and animal health professionals. We are fortunate to have had so much time with him and that we had the privilege of letting him pass on a good day. He was golden and deserved the best we could offer. Rest easy, our sweet Punkers.
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