Like we mentioned on these pages a few months back, our beloved cat of nearly 12 years (who was likely at least 17 years old himself), had not being doing well in 2015. He’d been slated for a surgery in January but the doctor discovered he had a massive, inoperable tumor in his head and gave him two weeks to live. Over three months later, Allister was still with us as of yesterday, but it’d become clear that he’d started down a road that would only end in pain and discomfort. So we made the awful, heart-wrenching decision to let him go before that happened and said goodbye to our dear boy yesterday.
Allister McVittes was more than a cat; he was a dynamic presence in our lives, one that can be felt all the more now that he’s left us. A friend put it well recently when she told us that, after so much time, animals have a way of becoming part of who we are, not just in a figurative sense, in a literal one too. They shape our behavior and habits which, over time, shape who we become. And when that part of us is suddenly pulled into the void, we’re left feeling appropriately emotionally dismembered.
Beyond all that though, he was just a really amazing animal and our best friend. That may sound shallow or trite, but it’s really not. If you knew him, you know what I mean.
I’d originally thought—after over a year of non-stop week-daily posting since last February—of going dark for the rest of this week. But Katie pointed out that a cat as rightfully ostentatious as Allister would want to be celebrated. So we’re instead going grey-and-white, posting an inordinate number of photos of this regal feline through to the weekend, today at our first New York apartment, on Sackett street in Park Slope, where we lived with him from 2003 to late 2008.
We’ll miss you more than you could ever understand, Sir Allister McVittes III. You’re unmatched in spirit, personality, and head-strong certitude in your stature here on this Earth. It’s a far worse place without you.
