Say Goodbye to Nike

Ok ... It's been a while since I last posted... & that was pointed out to me by my Detective Sargeant Friend...

Geez, pal.. I got a life... regardless how lame it is...

Peaks & Valleys... That's what life is about....

The euphoric Tranquility of Happiness of your Peaks & the utter Gut Wrenching Pain of your Valleys determines your life. (In my humble opinion)

Yesterday I buried a cat. End of story.

If you have ever had a cat, or still do, heck,... any type of pet.. read on... If not, you are satisfied with my sentence above, go click another blog...

It's a long story... so grab some Coffee, Cocktail or Tissues... Back in the day when the Egyptians domesticated cats.... Who would have thought we'd have PETA & Pet Cemetary's or Adoptions at a Pet Store.... Certainly not Egyptian Pharaohs thousands of years back... But it is this domestication that worked for the feral cats, food & shelter, cats are smart, that's why most have homes...

But for most of you, whether you know it or not, there is a huge population of wild cats living practically everywhere.

My Wife's mission; SAVE THEM ALL... (quite honestly she surely can't save them all, but she will die trying)

Seven or eight years ago, while riding horses at the Overpeck Stables in NJ, the Ferrier, (The person who Shoes Horses) was doing his thing, when his German Shepard started wandering around the grounds, lo & behold a bunch of 3 weeks kittens to pounce on...

My wife, Fast on her feet, chased the dog, (oops..the BAD dog), away from the litter.. Somehow saving 3 of the remaining newborn furballs. She was able to safely bring them to an office and protect and nurture them until she was able to find ALL of them homes. I wasn't there, but I can assure you she yelled at the dog & the Ferrier...

She had success with 2 of the 3, and of course the third one would find it's way into our home. My wife brought home this way too little, gray furball with white feet, and I swear to you, he was no bigger than my hand. His head of course was hard to keep up, it was the biggest Cat knoggin I'd ever seen. Hopefully one day his body would grow into his head.

This cat was setup in the "Cat Room" of our house, so derived as having cat pictures and wood sculptures of felines. Before you think of robbing my house, these weren't that type of art... they were just for decoration in our Guest Room. Of course Uncle Phil, my wife's Uncle was the only one ever to stay in the room, and it's annually Christmas Night. He has cats so the extra hair doesn't bother him.

So this little motorized kitten needed a name, my wife proceeded to inform me that she was excellent at naming cats, and needed a few days to see his personality then name him. She assured me that any suggestion I had would have would be duly noted. I thought and decided "Winston", figuring Churchill was a good role model for this new member of the family. My wife's impartial response..."NO..we are not naming him after a cigarette"... Duly Noted.

Because he had four white paws, she came up with "Nike" as he was wearing Phil Knight's newest style White Hightops. Nike, as great a cat as he was, was a great kitten. Full of energy and very lovable. In the beginning, he ate baby food, not Purina but Beechers... He was probably too young to be away from his mom's milk, but he had to drink some from the bowl and when he did, it would run down his chin, it's then I came up with "Blue Beard" because with the milk and his gray fur... My wife quickly replied, "NO...his name is Nike"...

He was a crazy kitten, biting constantly, of course his mini teeth did no harm. As he grew, he became calmer, then he kept growing. He was a huge cat. Fun & loving but big. I would pick him up and tell him how good he was, he seemed to like that, but I had to rest him on my right shoulder, he was big & heavy. He was a great cat, & I am grateful for the time he was with us. I'm certainly positive he loved where he lived. He was in Cat Heaven. He got Tempation Treats, always had a full bowl of crunchies, (served in the Kermie Crunchy Bowl, with Kermit the frog plastic statue watching him eat around the bowl). He had his run of the house, as do the others..

He always had a feminine voice, it was strange from such a big cat. He was happy to the end. This past Sunday my wife noticed him breathing funny, and took him to the vet, by Tuesday, his heart & Kidneys gave out. Sorrow filled our home and I know he will never be forgotten.

My opening comments about the peaks & valley's, really hit home. Yes he was taken from us too soon, but he barely made it into his 3rd week if not for my wife. He gave us, and we gave him 7 great years.. so the Valley we were in yesterday, doesn't compare to the Peaks we had with Nike...

Now, if any of you have a stray cat, please don't call my wife....

We still have Bobby, Peaches & Joy, and of course Sylvester who has attached himself to our back deck. so we have enough right now...

The next post will be happier...I promise..