Thursday, June 25, 2015

Footprints on My Heart

Sunday was not the Father's Day we had planned, and certainly not any day we would have planned. I debated about this post, and then decided that, yes, even though I will be sad, Oliver should have a tribute on my blog.

Our sweet sweet Oliver took his walk over the Rainbow Bridge on Sunday afternoon. Even though we were at the vet, he was surrounded by family and love. Stephanie, his true mama, and Dennis and I were with him. Adam was in Shreveport, LA and learned of his passing when he called Dennis for Father's Day.

Oliver came to us as a wee kitten -- Stephanie had found him in a parking lot sitting next to what we presume was his mother. When she moved out, I asked that Oliver stay with us since ours was the only home he knew, and he had bonded with Sam, our other rescue cat.

He was a British Cream, like a light creamsicle ice cream, made even lighter with extra cream. His face had a serious, studious look as if he were contemplating the answers to very important questions. He was a sweet cat who rarely meowed (unless his tail was accidentally stepped on), who ran like thundering hooves through the house, and had a habit of leaping on you when you least expected it (which was a real shock since he was not exactly a petite cat...)

He enjoyed a good book at night and, in fact, would nudge my book until I finally put it down and paid him some attention. Then he would retreat to the foot of the bed and go to sleep. His last couple of nights were spent sleeping at the head of the bed, right in between Dennis' and my heads, I believe he wanted to be as close to us as possible, because, in the way of cats, he knew he didn't have long even before we did.



his usual place, right over my head
I'll miss his tail smacking me in the face!



He had various windows that were "his"
and especially liked the ones in the livingroom that were only a few inches off the floor

The outside cats would pass by....



and he would run for the mail slot to peer outside!



He liked to play King of the Mountain



and tolerated Noli's shenanigans



and her many hugs



He even took care of her when she sprained her arm :)



 He liked to play "Run When You Hear the Can Opener 'Cause There May Be Tuna"



and Hide and Go Seek



even though his hiding places weren't exactly hard to find!



Found ya!



He liked to sneak some of the outside kitties' food



and try to fit into the smallest thing possible



He loved to play the piano, even though he knew that the bench was all that he was allowed on....
and leaping on the keys in the middle of the night was a definite no-no!
(But he certainly never did that, oh no!) Ha!



He wasn't wild about taking an occasional bath....
but put up with it,



especially when his good buddy Sam had to take one too....



They often curled up together when they slept



He rarely slept on his back, but when he did it was with no shyness!



He loved to help me work
especially sitting on the mailing boxes so they wouldn't fly away



or guarding my crochet so it didn't get tangled



 or helping me on the computer.




Such a silly boy.
I'm going to miss him.



A light has gone out, a presence diminished, but his footprints will forever be on my heart.



sharing on
~ AlphabeThursday for the letter F



♥♥

18 comments:

Duni said...

I'm so sorry for your loss, Sarah. My heart goes out to you and your family. In many ways Oliver reminds me of Sammy. Sammy turned 13 y.o. this month!

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Sarah, this brought tears to my eyes. I love cats and my Charlie is getting to be an old boy and I know this day will come but hopefully not too soon. Hugs to all and thank you for this great tribute to your sweet Oliver.

Linda

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry for the loss of your beautiful boy.
It looks like to have some amazing memories of him though. Such great pictures of him.

BeadedTail said...

Such a wonderful tribute for Oliver. He was a very special boy and he'll certainly forever be in your heart. Many hugs to you. My thoughts are with you.

Gattina said...

That must be terrible for you ! You certainly miss him in all corners he used to be. It's awful to loose a pet. I know, I experienced it 3 times during my life. All three cats made it to almost 20 years. I will never forget them.

Whispering Thoughts said...

This is such a lovely tribute to Oliver.

Unknown said...

I am so glad you did a tribute to Oliver so that we could see a few of the photos. He deserved it and I know you will all miss him something fierce.

Memories for Life said...

Oh Sarah, what a beautiful post! You really did Oliver justice with your kind words. It's so great to see so many fun photos of him. I love the one of him "helping" you on the computer :)
Hugs my friend!

pasqueflower said...

What a lovely tribute! And what cute photos. Thinking of you at this sad time. (Hugs)

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

those footprints will give you warm memories.

Su-sieee! Mac said...

You wrote a sweet heartfelt tribute to your Oliver. He was amazing. Peace and joy.
The View from the Top of the Ladder

LanasArtStudio said...

Very sad to say goodbye to a friend/pet/family for many years... I been in your shoes and totally understand your feelings! Time will heals! hugs))))

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful guy. I'm so sorry you've lost your dear friend. <3

Splendid Little Stars said...

Oh Sarah! I'm sad for your loss, too.
What a great tribute! What is it about cats and trying to fit into spaces much smaller than they are?!
I love the "sprained arm" photo with the toys laying on Oliver.
What a sweet, sweet kitty!

Judy Nolan said...

What a touching tribute to Oliver! I'm so sorry about your loss, Sarah.

Betty said...

It's so sad when we lose one of our four legged family members, but their lives are so much shorter than ours. Although I've loved all my cats some are really special and seem to stick out more in my memory. I have a feeling that was how it was with your Oliver. It's never easy. I lost my Grace a year ago April. She was almost 21 years old and there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of her. In fact, I have her picture in a frame right next to the keyboard. I love your wonderful tribute to Oliver. So many great pictures.

Pam Beers. said...

I'm so very sorry for your loss. Our feline friends are family, and the loss feels overwhelming at times. What a wonderful kitty Oliver was! He was and always will be a special blessing in your life. Your happy memory pictures of him are priceless.

Jenny said...

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Oliver looked like an amazingly fun and fanciful friend.

Sending you a gentle hug along with this A+ for linking to Alphabe-Thursday's Letter F.

I'm sorry.

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