Goodbye Little Elliott

Fifteen years ago I got a cat for Christmas.  T.J. 

Twelve years ago I got a cat for my cat.  Elliott. 

The funny thing about Elliott is that I committed to having her before having met her and she looked exactly like T.J.  We even had an apartment once where we said we had one cat. The landlord would never know the difference, assuming there were not two cats standing together. 

Last week, while we were gone, Elliott passed away. 

My poor neighbor.  Before we left, I gave her instructions that the cats would be in the garage and they would be fine.  If she could just stop by a time or two to make sure they still had food, that would be great.  She said she would come by everyday.

When we left I couldn’t find Elliott.  She was roaming free.  I let my neighbor know that she was hard to catch and if she found her, great, if not, that was ok too.  We hardly ever caught Elliott.  She was truly T.J.’s cat and never cared for us much (although, there was that time during law school when she liked to lick Greg’s head.  I always told Greg she was his cat).  I didn’t have my hopes up that Elliott would remain safe in the garage during our trip.

I received a text from my neighbor on Tuesday morning: We found Elliott, she is in the garage.  Have a great trip.  With both cats tucked safely in the garage, I enjoyed the trip.

Upon arriving home, we pulled into the driveway and my neighbor was already there.  Still in the car, I asked her how everything went and she responded by saying she needed to talk to me.  A little perplexed, I asked her if everything was ok.  She shook her head no and very softly replied that Elliott had died.  Elliott died??  I didn’t expect that at all. 

Apparently, she put her in the garage Tuesday morning and when she checked on them that afternoon Elliott was gone.  She picked up Elliott and took her little body to her work. (Luckily she works for a vet!)  They had a hold on her until I arrived home. 

We are headed to my dad’s today to lay her to rest.  She will be buried with the other animals that have passed before her..Zeke and Sam and a few pigeons. 

Dear little Elliott, 

Thank you for being our cat for 12 years.  We will miss you and your scared little ways.  I hope you are happy wherever you are.

Love,
Me