Chevy

My mom called me at work today during her lunch to tell me that Chevy had passed.

Chevy was our family cat that I grew up with. She was cuddly, never whined, and just a sweet little cat. When she was just a kitten in my parents' basement, she was always the only one to come upstairs to say hi to everyone while her siblings continued playing with each other downstairs. She was born in 1995, and every Christmas her favorite spot to sit was on the biggest present under the Christmas tree. Her next favorite spot was my dad's lap, but only when he was just about to get up. She was always an indoor cat, though occasionally she would sneak outside when we weren't paying attention and wander about. We would panic, thinking there was no way she could survive out there after she had been de-clawed, but she somehow always made it, though when we found her she was usually a bit disoriented.

One time my sister accidentally slammed the front door on the end of her tail. From that point forward she was missing the end of her tail.

If you look through my family's photo albums, including mine, you will find hundreds of pictures of Chevy. She was the true star of the house. In fact, she was the star of my band Electric Needle Room's latest EP cover. I chose a picture of her I had taken in high school to use for the cover of the EP.


I even got her to sign her autograph on my copy later on...

This past weekend my brother and I were back at my parents house and that's when we noticed she was acting sort of strange. My mom said she had been her usual, energetic self only days before, so we all were worried. I spent some time petting her before we left, and said goodbye with the feeling that would probably be the last time I saw her. A couple days later the veterinarian said she was dying and in lots of pain. My parents made the tough decision to put her to sleep, and now she's in kitty heaven.

She lived a good life, and she was a good cat. I did not take the news as bad as I thought I would, probably because I have not lived in the same house as Chevy in eight years, but the news has still left an empty feeling inside me that I can't get rid of. I have been very fortunate in my life to not have lost any close loved ones. I know that will change, probably in a hurry, but Chevy passing away I think helped remind me that life is fragile and very temporary. All things, good or bad, must come to an end.

I know she was "just a cat," but the fact is, she really was a member of our family. I will always remember her, and she will be dearly missed.