our old man cat

went to his final rest yesterday. We miss him so much. 

He was a great cat. Super friendly, handsome and confident-

Loved to be with his people. He would sleep on your lap for hours. Keep you company if you were sick. Greet anybody walking by our house (unless they had a dog). This photo taken years ago by one of my kids with a toy camera.

When they weren't at my house for a week, he'd go around looking for them, and sleep on their beds. 

Same if my husband traveled.

His favorite foods were tuna, chicken heart, greenies, or anything he caught himself (except the chipmunks and voles). Squirrel, mouse, bird, rabbit . . .  Many apologies to the small wildlife on his behalf (though I don't think he was one bit sorry) I always did feel bad about that. 

Sadly, in his last few days had no interest in the tasty morsels we offered. (He could be picky, but in this case it was because he was ill).

He liked boxes.

Especially if somebody's clothes were in there

Great at relaxing (aren't all cats?)

Yes, look at all the pictures of my cat sleeping-

this pic from years ago when we had two cats (turned out he didn't like sharing his household with another feline) I always though it looked like he was going to melt off the chair-

He was a big fan of the outdoors, and a superlative hunter, as noted above. I won't show again the evidence of his skill.

Dear Irwin, we loved you so much. Best cat I've ever known.

 Nineteen and a half years of a very good life.

Bonus: video my husband took, playing "let's knock the pen off the desk" game. Which became annoying later- the cat would use this to get our attention if we ignored his demands, knocking all sorts of things off the counters in the kitchen! Now it's funny and endearing in memory.

(All the photos on here that you haven't seen before, were taken by my husband, one of my kids, or my stepson.)