Goodbye, Stinky

Jon's Memorial for Stinkles:

"It is with sadness that we report that our eldest cat, Today (“Stinky”), passed away from natural causes during the early morning of October 28. This year had been difficult for her physically, as a number of health problems had surfaced over the past nine months. We take some comfort from the fact that her latest upswing carried her at least until midday on the 27th, so her final bout with illness did not entail prolonged suffering.

We first met Today in the Fall of 2002 when she was a semi-feral cat who came up to Melissa’s rented home on 14th Street in Charlottesville with three kittens and badly in need of food. This began a seven-year partnership that took her from 14th Street to a small apartment in Ivy (with an outdoor cat house) to a Washington DC apartment on Capitol Hill (with access to a large fenced in patio) to a home in Falls Church to a large apartment in Charlottesville and finally, for the last 15 months, to a home in Crozet. Although it took several years, by 2006 or 2007 she was a fully domesticated cat, although she never lost her ability to hiss and spit at you if you petted her the wrong way. She earned her nickname “Stinky” way back at the Ivy apartment due to her propensity to smell up the place, particularly after eating beef cat food.

Stinky’s favorite activities were eating (perhaps to excess), sleeping (usually next to Melissa on the couch or bed), sitting just outside our home(s) (usually asleep), playing with the stuff on our dressers to wake us up in the morning, and, for a period of time, carrying around a toy octopus. She oversaw a household that grew to four cats, two of which were strays just like her.

We now hope that her spirit is at rest, enjoying endless sunny days outside with unlimited kitty treats."

I love you so much, Stinky. There's a piece of my heart and soul that belongs solely to you, and though it feels missing or injured now, I know it will always be yours and that I'll keep it with me forever. I'll never forget the special bond we had and, though the pain of losing you feels as though it might be too much to bear, I am so grateful to have had you in my life and at my side for as long as I did. Rest in peace, my sweet little girl.