Shelter Cats and Redemption

This Sunday, August 2nd, marks one year since Tyler crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  This is an especially hard week for me as I remember his final days with me, and I cherish his life.  It's hard to believe he's gone a year already.  I never saw in another being on this planet what I saw in Tyler, and I never will again.  I know he is with Tiger now, happy and playing, and watching over me. Here he is on July 29th, 2014.  Fading, but defiant.  A fighter to the end. I love you and miss you old man. Until I see you again.

I loved this picture so much, I thought I'd re-share it as this week's Tyler Tuesday. Tyler dealing Moose a smack to the head, 2003.  Look at those eyes.  No way Tyler wasn't going to win.

Tyler and I quickly fell into a happy bachelor routine.  We took to apartment life well.  He would give the orders and I would follow them.  We ate our meals together, he would spend the day in his favorite window, he rearranged his patrols to accommodate the apartment, and he slept at the foot of the bed or on my head on the pillows every night. My roommate Mark, however, didn't take too well to apartment life with a feline landlord. Mark was barely home. Between working for the Mets and obligations in Brooklyn, it was a rare event to see him at the apartment.  At first I thought it was just being too busy, but perhaps a certain feline also had something to do with his finding ways to never being at home. My favorite was early every morning, when Mark would get ready for work and the drive to Shea Stadium.  Tyler being.....Tyler, meant always needing to be a part of everyone's morning routine no matter how personal, even a shower. The same thing happe...

In today's episode of Tyler Tuesday....................... We see Tyler and his beloved roommate Tiger sleeping on the last blanket my Grandmother ever made in January of 2010. How they loved that blanket.

The feet.......2010.  I always called his back legs rabbit feet.

In November of 2002, I moved out. Finally. No need to go into the specifics of moving, you've all moved, you know how it works.  Lots of boxes, very hectic, stuff gets lost, stuff gets broken.  Movers don waist belts and show incredible strength, Stuff gets STUFFED into your car. Just to be safe, I confined Tyler to my parents bedroom since moving people and furniture were going in several directions all day long. I decided to settle in as best as I could and bring Tyler over to his new home the next day. Being what I thought was a guru of feline behavior by that time, I thought it best to set up his new environment before making the transition and easing his stress. My parents helped me all day long, ordered pizza for everyone, and, as predicted, both teared up as moving day drew to a close and it was time to go home. Just as they had ever summer as a kid in the 1980's when they'd dump me at summer camp for 8 weeks. I never got used to the sight of my father in t...