Goodbye Holmes

Holmes is missing.  I last saw him Friday afternoon and Ryan is pretty sure he saw him on Saturday, but no sightings since then.  I'm sure he's gone forever, although I keep hoping he'll just show up at the back door.

I can't help but feel a little guilty about his disappearance.  Several weeks ago, I decided to boot all the animals out of the house for good.  I had cleaned up one too many messes, vacuumed up one too many wads of hair, and tripped over one too many lounging creatures - it was time to reclaim my home.  Don't think I just left them out in the cold.  No, we've allowed them all to spend the night in the shop if they so choose, and provided other shelter around the yard should they choose to stay out all night.  Even when they were allowed in the house, the cats would often stay out all night prowling around, and then come in the next day and sleep.  All.  Day.  Long.  I know I shouldn't blame myself, it could have happened any other night he was out all alone, but a mother's heart knows nothing if it doesn't know guilt.

Sadly, Holmes has fallen victim to the dangers of country life, which could mean a car, a larger animal, or even a shooting neighbor.  And since we haven't even found a trace of him, I guess we'll never know.  He was the prettiest of our cats (sorry girls), and the only male around this place to help Ryan with the testosterone levels.  He had a distinctive way of clawing up the screen door to be let in, and loved to have Lunati clean his ears at night.  I keep listening for the *clunk* he made when he jumped down from the roof onto the top of the air conditioner, and the way he would cry at the door to be let in.  He was soft, and fat, and onry, and very, very lovable.  He will be missed.

***

Holmes came to live with us in July 2007.  We had just bought our home and I had been talking about getting a cat for at least a year.  I knew I would have to wait until we weren't renting anymore, so when we had our own place, I jumped at the opportunity.  I went to the pet store downtown, on a break from work, and they had the cutest litter of kittens.  Ryan and I had agreed on getting two female cats, but there were three adorable kittens to choose from.  One of the kittens was obviously male, even though the lady at the pet store repeatedly assured me they were all female.  The obvious solution:  bring home all three.  And so, Holmes, Spider, and Blonde Kitty joined our family. 

Ryan was working the night shift at the time.  When he woke up that evening to get ready for work, I was waiting for him on the couch with my three new little babies on my lap.  He just shook his head.  He knows my love of animals and knew there was no point in trying to argue with me.  Plus, look at that little cutie.  Who could send that kitty back to the store without his sisters?

I reasoned with Ryan that we did, indeed, need three cats.  Life in the country can be perilous for a tiny kitten, so I had brought home a "spare" kitty.  Morbid, I know.  But I've had a lot of cats in my life, none of which are with me now, and I know how short the life span of a country cat can be.  The odd part is, I never considered Holmes to be the "spare."  At first the questionable kitten of the bunch, he soon became the favorite.

After his initial meeting with the dogs, he quickly demonstrated his canine dominance, and even learned to love Lunati.  She would clean his ears every evening, and lick his face until it was sopping wet.

Like any kitten, he was good at getting into mischief.  Climbing the wall in the bathroom.

And destroying more than one house plant.

Here, he climbed a tree for the first time and got stuck.  Ryan had to get a chair and help him down.  He never was a good tree climber.  Actually, he was fairly skilled at going up, but could never get down very gracefully.

The bigger he got, the lazier he became.  He's about six months here, lounging with Ryan.  Until Laci was born, Holmes would join Ryan every time he sat in this chair.  Of course, Laci somewhat cramped his style and I'm sure he never really got over that.

And grow, he did.  I don't know exactly what he weighed, but I'd guess he was somewhere near 15 lbs.  He was definitely substantial in size.

With all that hair and blubber, Summer was a hot time for the little guy.  His favorite location during the hot weather - on the kitchen table in line with the cool air from the air conditioner.  He's a thinker, this one.

Then Miss Laci came along, and he figured he'd take advantage of the new cozy lounge chair.  This definitely did NOT make me happy, but I had to at least capture the moment before I rudely threw him out of the bouncer chair.

At first, we tried to force the love between these two.  Laci was more than thrilled to express her love for him.  Holmes, on the other hand, was not amused.  He merely tolerated her.  And yet, he never learned to run away from her.  She would pet him, and grab him, and basically torture him, and he would continue to stay in one place with his ears laid back and his eyes glaring, until I would come along and chase him away.

I'm glad she's too young to comprehend his loss.  I'm not ready to explain that to a little one.

For a male cat, Holmes was not a terrible hunter.  Of course, there was the day he brought me a gopher and then let it loose, but then again, male cats usually aren't hunters in the first place.

He really was such a sweet little guy, even when I tripped over him in the middle of the night trying to get to Laci's room.  He didn't move out of your way.  Ever.  He fully expected you to walk around him every single time.  Part of me wishes he'd been hit by a car in front of our house, because then we'd at least have a little body to bury under the tree in our yard.  Of course, more of me wishes he'd lived longer than three years and we could still pet his silky fur.  But, such is life.  We definitely miss him.  A lot.