Felix the Cat (1997-2009)

In June 2008, Felix was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor in his pelvis. After some acting out (i.e. peeing on the floor) due to many trips to the vet and some nasty medical procedures, he returned to his lovable self, albeit with a limp. In the past few weeks, he got noticeably worse, so we decided it was time to let him go.

We adopted Felix in 1997 while living in Boston. We had already had Oscar for 2 months and he was none too pleased with the addition to the household, clearly illustrated by the noises emanating from his mouth. We kept an eye on them during the day and separated them at night and eventually Oscar learned to live with Felix.

When we moved to Austin, Chris took Felix in his car (I took Oscar in mine, because Oscar is clearly a mama's boy). If Chris is to be believed, Felix proceeded to meow every 10 seconds for the entire drive.

While living in Austin, Felix had the adventure of a lifetime when he fell out of our 2nd story bedroom window when the screen popped out. It was a very windy day and I heard a big bang come from upstairs. I was rounding the corner to head upstairs to check it out and froze as I saw Felix on the other side of the front door, staring at me with wide eyes. I wish I had a picture of this moment, both of us frozen in place, staring at each other in disbelief.

Felix could be full of beans, hence the affectionate nickname "Evil Orange Cat". He would wake me up early when he wanted to be fed. He would stick his nose into places it didn't belong, including the occasional excursion into the garage. We would let him roam around until he was ready to come back in and he would return with a stylish dirt mustache.

He was also very entertaining. When he was as a kitten he played fetch, actually bringing the foam ball back to be thrown again. His acrobatics when going after the laser pointer would crack us up to no end. He was also a champion tail chaser, who would administer punishing licks on the occasions he actually caught it.

I will miss my sweet Felix. The one who met me at the door every day when I got home. The one who would curl up in my lap while watching TV. The one who would drool and purr and lick me with his scratchy tongue when I petted him.

It is unfair that he did not make it to his 12th birthday, but I will always be grateful for the time we did have with him.