Wednesday, October 27, 2010

RIP, Golgi, wherever you are...

The one member of the family that I’ve never introduced you to has disappeared. He’s been gone for 60 hours, something that he’s never done. Since he was such a hedonist, and loved sleeping on the bed with the dogs during the day, I can only infer that he’s no longer around. Last night, I went out to see if I could find him, and the Golgi presence is gone from the world. In preparing for this post, I discovered that the only pictures I had of Golg were from when I lived in Reno, with his late dog, Ceili. She passed on 4 years ago, and left a huge hole, somewhat filled by Lyra, whom you’ve met.


Golgi and Ceili

I got Golgi and his brother Quark after my cat, Sigmund died. Amy (purple fuzzy mittens)was instrumental in bringing them home from the Humane Society for me, and getting them settled, as I had taken the previous day off, and then the HS said they had to re-treat them for ear mites, could I come back tomorrow? Not with my psycho boss… I had the kittens for 2 weeks, trying to think of names, and then one night, in a tequila-inspired haze, came up with them.

Golgi was an indoor cat for most of his life, until I got tired of his peeing on my stuff when he got his nose out of joint. The final straw was when he peed on some brand new roving… Out he went. He didn’t really understand, but enjoyed having the great outdoors and the accompanying rodents to play with. It wasn’t until later that I found out that he needed to be an only cat (when my munchkin, Otter died), and that solved the peeing problem.

Golgi and Otter

When I moved to Walton, Golg was the first one to figure out the dog door (before Harry, the border collie, even). He enjoyed his freedom, survived a bout with bad cat food (almost died, actually), and generally had a great life. He loved hanging out on the hay in the barn, waiting for rodents to appear. He would follow me into the back pasture while I was feeding or filling water troughs, enjoying the company. If I sat down for a minute, there he was, with Lyra wanting to be in my lap too.

When Lyra arrived, as a 7 week old puppy, he never unsheathed his considerable claws on her (he weighed 16 lbs.). He let her roll him around on the floor, and when he’d had enough, he’d bite her cheek until she let go. He put up with Harry, but he adopted Lyra as a replacement for Ceili. Sometimes, it seems as if she is Ceili reincarnated – weird.

Anyway, I’ll miss him. He was a good cat. I will have to replace him, probably with more than one, because I live on a farm, and have lots of juicy rodents to keep in check.

RIP, Bud…

Added:  Dad emailed me a picture of Golg taken when Dad was helping me recover from surgery.  I took the picture because my dad doesn't really like cats, but Golgi didn't care!

9 comments:

Michelle said...

I'm sorry about your big cat, Laura. Maybe you'll find HIS incarnation....

Mim said...

Ah that's terrible! He did have a great life with you and you never know. I had a cat come back after a year!

Unknown said...

It's the circle...the circle of life... that's what I had to sing when my nine year old Smokey Saxelody My Kitto, my Bitto, my Love didn't come home Thanksgiving night of 1990. My heart still aches - we used to camp together, went to the beach together, and he tolerated dancing with me whether I was happy or sad and even when I was singing at the top of my lungs! What at trooper! I hope you continue to share the memories and keep Golgi's spirit alive.

Sharon said...

Yeah, Ian doesn't like cats either and most pictures I have of Charlies and him sleeping on Ian's lap. Golgi has had a great adventure.

Leigh said...

Oh Laura, I'm so, so sorry. This is such sad news. I remember when Catzee disappeared, how devastated I was. Your post is a great tribute to Golgi. Love that photo of him with your dad. All it takes is the right cat.....

Susan said...

I'm so sorry Laura. It's always hard to lose someone you love, be they human or beastie. Take care of yourself, and remember happy moments.

Tina T-P said...

Thanks for your kind words about my cat Sinda. I'm so sorry to read about the loss of your cat - it is hard enough to lose a pet going through an illness - but to not know where or how is heartbreaking.

Yes, farms need big old hunters - good luck on finding a new farm cat. T.

~~Sittin.n.Spinnin said...

:(
Such a gorgeous creature, and so fitted to you and your life. I know that some cats will go away when they know they are headed out of our world, I will never believe that they don't reason things out, end up thinking its better that way, better than to put their beloved people through a long and lingering pain.
Huggs Laura!

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