Seymour's Epilogue

The ocicat breed is known for its athleticism and very "canine" behaviors; it's the cat that behaves like and seems to think that it is a dog.  Seymour was no exception.

He loved to play "fetch" with a favorite pompom, to always be with you but never "need" you, to be vigilant of strangers and protective of "his people", jealous of his toys etc.  Whenever a door opened to the outdoors, he considered it his personal invitation to go on a "walkabout" and visit neighbors...sometimes BLOCKS away...until he found just the right new people to befriend.  We learned early on to add a "Hello, I am Seymour" tag with our phone number to his collar and got SO many late night calls, "are you missing a really big cat?"

His athletic abilities were astounding.  Once, while seated on his hind quarters, he spotted a Texas-sized mosquito that was hovering above the drapery rod, near the ceiling.  Defying credulity, Seymour lept from that seated position and snagged the mosquito (surprising the mosquito almost as much as he did me!)

Seymour is resting now with some of his favorite, well-worn toys:  including an effigy of a former president whom he loved to toss high into the air and snag again before he hit the ground.

There will be other pets.  There ARE other pets.  But there will never be another Seymour.

(Thank you for indulging my bout of emotion.  As many will attest, I'm not often prone to it..some say I'm totally immune.  But every once in a while, we ALL cross paths with something so powerful that it challenges our "reality" and blurs our vision so that we can no longer type.  It's just one of the worthwhile dimensions of life that help us to complete our journey.  Why would anyone want to miss out on it?)