Rest in Peace Señor Poot

This weekend was sad for Travis and I. Our sweet Sr. Puttanesca passed away. He had been missing for about a week and we had looked all around the neighborhood for him. He had never been gone for more than a day before, so we knew that something was wrong, but we still kept our hopes up. On Saturday afternoon Travis decided to look in the neighbor’s backyard in a secluded area that no one ever goes, and he found Poot’s body laying on the grass. Travis’s dad very sweetly wrapped him in a towel, placed him in a shoe box, and buried him under the tree in our front yard where the cats like to lay in the summer to stay cool. 

We had had Poot for about five years and in that time he brought so much joy to our lives. I took him in as a stray while Travis was away on a business trip. The neighbors across the street had moved away and left him there and although I really had no desire to adopt another cat I couldn’t live with myself letting this little cat run around the neighborhood with no home. He was covered in fleas, and ticks, and was so skinny. He had worms, and just looked so sad. What else could I do but take him in? I started feeding him on the porch and slipped a dewormer into his food. I then started feeding him with the front door open and little by little he worked his way into the house and into our hearts. I de-flead him, got him fixed, and he became our cat. Travis named him Puttanesca because we initially thought he was a girl, but then he turned around and we discovered “Whoa! He’s a boy alright!” We shortened his name to Poot and then started calling him Senor Poot and sometimes just Senor. We weren’t ever sure of his age. Sometimes he seemed so young and full of energy. Other times he seemed so old. Even though we got him fixed, Poot loved to spray. He sprayed on anything and everything he could find. He sprayed outdoors and indoors. He sprayed on new items that were brought into the house, and items that he had sprayed 100 times before. He didn’t care what it was, he just loved to spray and there was no stopping him! I would get so mad when he would do it, but he was just so sweet I couldn’t stay mad at him for long. The thing about Poot was that he never did it to be mean or vindictive.He didn’t have a mean bone in his body. He just did it because it made him happy. It also made him happy to explore under the covers of our bed, sleep in between me and Travis like he was our baby, and greet us in the driveway when we came home. He had a very distinctive meow and didn’t like to be held, but would always let Travis hold him because he adored Travis. He also loved catnip and laying in the sun. 

I’m sure that some people will read this and think that I am being silly because he was just a cat and not a person, but he really was a part of our family. I am sad that we will never see him again, or hear his sweet meow and I feel that we were cheated because we only got five years with him, but I take comfort in the fact that for the last five years of his life he was happy, and healthy, and knew that he was loved. We gave him food, and toys, and a warm place to sleep at night and that is more than anyone else would have given him. He was the “reject kitty” that no one wanted, but we took him in even though I bitched and moaned about that cat and his spraying day and night, he was a good boy, a sweet boy, and a wonderful addition to our family. Rest in peace Senor Poot. You will always be in our heart, and will forever be part of our home. There are plenty of things to spray where you are now!