Orginally published on July 2, 2025.
Two. Orson is my oldest, a 10-year-old grey and white tuxedo, and Agnes is the baby, a 3-year-old black and white mask and mantle.
- 1 -
Orson's been my best friend since I finished college and entered adulthood. He's been with me for every milestone, from my first job, a major career change, meeting my wife, marriage, moving to a new city, and buying a house. He's taken every change in stride. I couldn't ask for a better, closer friend. He's my shadow. He's the first to greet me when I come home. Since the day I brought him home, his favorite resting place has been on or very near me. He demands me, always one to push rivals to my attention, be it my phone, a game, or a book, out of his path of affection. He carries himself with surprising coolness, with a goofiness that comes out whenever the zoomies emerge. Though he is easily embarrassed, and always fails to hide it.
As he ages, I struggle to think that our time together is limited. When he's gone, I fear a part of me will be gone with him. I truly feel connected to him in a way that is difficult to describe. He and I seem to know each other, intrinsically. His health is one of my greatest anxieties.
- 2 -
I've grown up with cats, and I've had similar relationships with others. My old man Tigger, my stout gray comrade from the age of 10 until my late 20s. He taught me how loving and empathetic cats can be, but also how to respect their moods and boundaries. Tigger wasn't the first cat in my life, but he would be a fixture for its most formative period. He would become my closest friend. A loving grouch, I raised him from a young, mischievous kitten. He would teach me the dos and don'ts of feline friendship. For example, it isn't wise to substitute one's hand as a toy for a kitten. Said kitten would go on to leave several memorable scars over the course of his long reign. Tigger would give me years of friendship until maturation meant moving for college and later work. As he transitioned from my cat to my parents', he never showed signs of forgetting me. Not even as age took its toll. He died in his cat bed while I held him at the ripe age of 17. I felt as his life left his frail form.
There was also Roosevelt and Trotsky, two kittens who were born in my backyard to one of the sweetest, most dutiful mothers I've ever met, the kind Patches. I witnessed their lives from newborn to adult for Roosevelt, my silly, dog-like ginger boy who I could hold whole conversations with as he meowed in response. My loyal friend who would stand on his hind legs for head pats. He tragically passed at 7 years of age due to kidney failure. From newborn to senior cat for Trotsky, my timid, but smart, affectionate cow kitty who always acted so shy when I'd come home on breaks from college, but as soon as we were alone, she would shower me with meows and rubs while endlessly purring. She passed at age 14 from an aggressive cancer. Like Orson, they all seemed to have a keen sense for understanding me, and I feel I grew to truly understand them. They will always remain a part of who I am.
- Aside -
As I write and edit this remembrance, I'm touched by how much I truly miss these lovely beings. Having pets (I wish we used a less condescending term to refer to them) is such a joy and such a tragedy. We are able to share, for a short while, in the lives of such remarkable animals. A true marvel of cross-species interaction. But their lives are much shorter than ours. There is a great difficulty in overcoming their absence after one raises, knows, and loves them for so long. The pain will never be fully excised, as I am now fully reminded, but the good of giving them a life of comfort in a world warped and made deadly by humans makes the pain worth bearing.
- 3 -
As for Agnes, she was found on a trip to visit my parents. We were five hours from home when this tiny kitten hopped out in front of our car. She was living in an abandoned house situated near a busy exit. As soon as she crossed our car, my wife and I knew we had to grab her.
We pulled over, and I crossed the road. The kitten had run to a tree that was part of a nearby fence. She sat in the tree, crying out as I came closer. I returned to our car, where my wife, her 14-year-old dachshund named Grandma (now passed), and our cat Orson were all waiting. After grabbing some food, I was able to coax her out of the tree. I gently grabbed her and took her back to the car. She rode to my parents’ house, another 15 minutes away, curled in my arms.
When we got there, my mom initially refused to let her in the house, worried she might pass something to Trotsky. However, my dad has a real soft spot for cats, so she folded as soon as he saw her. It didn't take long for her to warm up to the wobbly little kitten either. We bathed her that night and discovered she was filthy and infested with fleas and ticks. After a bath, she spent the night well-fed and warm in a Rubbermaid container lined with flannel sheets and a screen placed atop it to stop her from wandering about the house.
We then took her back home with us after the trip and brought her to the vet. She was underweight and had a broken tail that had already begun to necrotize. Her tail eventually fell off, but the nub healed quickly, leaving her with the most adorable bobtail.
We've had her for three years now, from when she was just six weeks old. She's one of the sweetest, most appreciative and trusting cats I've ever known. She's still very petite and kitten-like, loves being held, and always tolerates it even if she'd rather be somewhere else. She's such a baby (our nickname for her).
I truly believe that taking her in is the greatest accomplishment of my life. To see her grow into the little sweetheart that now inhabits my home has been one of my life’s greatest pleasures. If I do nothing else, I will be fulfilled.
- Fin -
Loving these cats has taught me the ridiculousness that is human supremacy. We're not better than any other animal--just different. We have our own strengths, our own weaknesses, but we do not enjoy a monopoly on love, emotion, empathy, or intelligence. I owe these friends of mine for who I am today and for who I will continue to become. All the while, I will strive to preserve and honor their memories.