Chester "Chet" Kath
April 23, 1992 - May 10, 2007

This morning, I carried Chet around the house to let him sniff goodbye to everything: the bed he's snuggled up in for thousands of nights, and where he regularly stole Keith's side of the bed right before he came in for the night... the hundreds of books he chewed the covers on... the windows he'd sun himself in (a main reason I bought this house - kitty accessible windows)... the couchback he slept on (permanently furred now, and I'm glad)... his thrones - aka our computer chairs - each with a pillow to support wherever he wanted to sleep. As I carried him (he was too weak to walk much at this point) I whispered how much I loved him, and how much everyone loved him. How much joy he brought to the people who knew him in his 15 years. How lonely we will all be without his snuggly furry softness and giant kitty heart.

And then we drove to the vet, where I cradled his head in my hands as he slipped quietly away from this world.

He was an amazing little kitty and I miss him more than I could ever imagine. And I am so grateful for that day 15 years ago when a tiny little orange kitty reached out and grabbed me with his paw as I walked past his pet store cage. I am so thankful he chose me that day - and that I got to spend nearly every day of the last 15 years with Chet at my side.