A Sad Goodbye - One Year Later

Back in 2011 I blogged about The Cats of Clos du Bois - the story of our Cat Family which began in the spring of 2001 with the arrival of Cleo Cat. Last year was a tough year for our Cat Family as we lost both of our Tiger Cats - Tom-Cat in July and Solomon Cat in November.  I've had the beginnings of a tribute post in the works for over a year.  Now it is time to recap how much they meant to us.    

Tom-Cat arrived in the early summer of 2001 after his girlfriend (and probably sister) Cleo Cat had given birth to five kittens.

As three of the five kittens were tigers, there was no doubt he was Daddy Cat.

Tommy fit into our growing cat family immediately.

He was extremely good-natured and rarely started a scuffle. 

Early on he was the recipient of a notch in his right year - we think a raccoon fight was the probably cause.  

You can see why one of his many nicknames was "Fangster".

But mostly he just liked to sleep.

A spot of sunshine made for a great spot...

...but there were plenty of other options as well.

Silly cat!

You could pet Tom-Cat until your hands fell off, and he'd still want more.

Being a senior member of the Cat Family could sometimes make for a worried face.

He could also be kittenish and playful - loving feathers and balls.

While he did sleep a lot, almost hibernating in the winter... 

...he also was an avid birder and tracker of small mammals.

Given his early history as a feral cat (probably the first 12-18 months of his life) he brought us presents of bunnies, chipmunks, mice, and birds. 

In the last couple of years he became more of an observer than an Elmer Fudd type ("Kill the Wabbit!).

He was also a wonderful Garden Helper.

He passed away in July 2015 suddenly of a fast growing lung tumor.

Designer - Ewe & Eye & Friends

Design - "Fat Cat"

Fabric -32 count raw linen

Fibers - DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started -15 September 2014

Completed - 20 September 2014

Framed - October 2015

As you can see I had this stitch at the framers during our Tigers' passings.

It turned out to be a way to remember our great furry guys.

Solomon Cat was born at the end of May 2001.

Here he is with Padma and Parvati.

He was an extremely handsome and strong cat from the get-go.

Rather than orange, he was a lovely brick color with pure white paws and neck.

Here he is with his father.

He was taken with computer printers and watching them eject a piece of paper was endlessly fascinating.  

He was our jumper and climber - our Mountaineer Cat.

And the reason all our kitchen cabinets rather than being open shelves had glass doors. 

He was our ball player and would chase one at full speed down the hallway as fast as he could go.

He liked to be part of the action.

He was a Catnip addict.

A dedicated napper.

A garden helper.

Ironically he was the most shy of our cats.  

He did not always enjoy the best of health.

But he did love this patch in the front flowerbed.

Something about this carpet of moss...   

Like his father, he was a dedicated rabbit hunter.

In 2014 his health became compromised and though he ate, his digestive system could not process the nutrients and calories from his food.  He slowly lost weigh and strength until the sad November day last year when we had to say good by.

Good by Tom-Cat

Good by Solly

We miss you both.