Friday, November 16, 2012

Chessie: 1994-2012

It has been a rough week. This afternoon we had to put to sleep our cat, who was 18 1/2 years old. Though very old, she had been doing well. But time and old age started catching up with her this week.

Since I've been a huge train buff all my life, we named her Chesapeake for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, but called her Chessie, the name of the railroad's corporate mascot and later the name of the Chessie System railroad. We raised Chessie from a tiny kitten. Her mother died when Chessie was only two weeks old, so we had to feed her with a dropper.

Those who knew her, knew Chessie as a feisty little thing! Every time I sat down to paint my models, she had to jump up on the table to drink from the jar I used to rinse off my brushes. She would tiptoe through my miniatures to get to the jar. I can't tell you how many times she jumped up on the table to walk across whatever game we were playing--the attack of the giant cat! My son is taking the loss very hard, as are my wife and I. We knew this was going to be harder than when my father died last April or when our good friend and neighbor George died last June.

Anyway, I'll keep using that jar to rinse my paint brushes. But it will feel odd and lonely not having a cat trying to drink out of it.

11 comments:

  1. Sorry about the loss of your cat....a pet is a hard thing to deal with.

    I had to put one of my two dogs to sleep in August after 10 years, but he was having major issues and we tried everything we could, perhaps more so than most would have done. I cried like a baby at the vets...getting a little teared up again...

    again, sorry for the loss and never forget the happy moments the bring to your life!

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  2. Sorry to hear of your loss, I too have had to fight past felines to get my painting done. I only have 1 old girl left now.
    Peace
    James
    Exiles Painting

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  3. Thanks for the kind thoughts, fellas.

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  4. Just lost ours, know exactly where you're coming from and my thoughts are with you...
    Hugh

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  5. Sorry for your loss. I just saved two kitties from the streets. They are my first cats and they are already attacking my figures
    Cheers,

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  6. Wow, looks like a bunch of us are going through losing pets. It's funny how much of our daily routines involve our pets. We're noticing all sorts of little things we used to do and say.

    Blacksmith, that made me smile and chuckle! There is no turning back now! :-) BTW I did far more damage to my minis than my cat ever did. She might have knocked one or two over--I've dropped entire boxes of minis onto the floor!

    On a positive note, I did do some painting yesterday and today, finishing two figures and working on the other Victorians. So life is getting back to normal. It's a lot easier coping with losing our cat than it was when losing my dad last year, that's for sure. Still, a loss is a loss.

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  7. Forgive me haven't been on much recently ive just seen the comment you left on my page. You have my deepest sympathy for your loss, i'm the same seems strange painting without him batting my figures or messing with the brushes. Hang on in there my friend...they may be gone but will never be forgotten.
    All the best
    Sean

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