Goodbye Scruffy

She was a Christmas gift for Ann 17 years ago. A kitten loaded with long multicolored fur and one tan foot. No matter how long she groomed herself the fur was never quite right. She had a series of "bad hair" days lasting her entire life. What she lacked in looks, she made up in cat charm. When she was young, she brought us gifts. We never felt comfortable giving her cash or access to credit cards so the best she could do was to bring us the occasional live bird she caught. Since we had cat doors, this usually resulted in our chase and capture of a terrified dove winging its way from room to room. When captured, Marilyn would divert Scruffy's attention while I released the bird outside. We didn't want Scruffy to think we didn't appreciate her efforts. She was a sensitive cat. When hearing the garage door open, Scruffy always made her way to the door. When we walked in, she was always there to greet us. She developed a nightly ritual of accompanying me to get the mail. She loved birthday parties and attended them all hoping for a chair at the table along with some cake frosting and ice cream.

There's no one to greet us at the door now. I get the mail alone. Scruffy passed away last week at the ripe old cat age of 17. We miss her.