Animal Tales | All about Whiskey

We had Whiskey since he was 9 months old, way too young to be taken from his mother. He was a first generation Sphynx Cat – not all Sphynx Cats are hairless. Whiskey had a soft peach fuzz coat.

He was a cream colored van cat with two blue patches on the top of his head, over each ear, a blue tail, and a splash of blue on one of his hind legs. When he was 7 years old he was taken from us way too soon. His ailment was a mystery and even now we can only speculate. He may have fallen from a moderate height, with not enough distance to correct his fall. He began developing respiratory issues and we learned his heart valves were badly damaged. The respiratory infection was a secondary issue to his two leaky valves and fluid build up in the cardiac sac. On September 18, 2013 we made the difficult decision to help our Whiskey cat cross Rainbow Bridge. This is the poem I wrote for him:

A Tribute to Our Whiskey Cat – Our Little Buddy- This One’s for you Boy

September 19, 2005 to September 18, 2013

The kitten in you played hide and seek.

You loved to wrestle and at times would even speak.

The days were long, the nights were warm,

We sheltered each other from the oncoming storm.

Your best toys were twisty-ties and bottle caps too

A straw, a bow, and sometimes even grandma’s shoe

We brought you home on a cold winter’s night.

It was us you chose to love and to sleep with at night.

You entered our lives when we needed you most.

A wise old Sage who knew so much, our lives you changed and our hearts you touched.

You taught us to love, to open our hearts, and to not be afraid.

You even taught us that kittens sometimes played with lampshades.

The night we slow danced will always be my fondest memory of you and me

I lifted you up to my chest and when our eyes met we held each other tight

Lost in your eyes, that sea of green, the love was overwhelming on that magical night

You held my hand, I held your paw, we moved as one on our makeshift dance floor

Deep in that hazy green mist our destiny aligned; a plan unfolded and our lives forever entwined.

The first morning waking up with you I held you briefly before you ran

Back to your comfort zone – a safe haven where my face you could scan

When we first touched my heart became stronger, unfolded and pulsed with love

You came to us headstrong and fierce, a lion or a jungle cat lunging from above

You filled a void we never knew was there with a force so intense it fit like a glove.

You would ride on our shoulders and climb high to prey far above our heads

The mantel, a shelf, atop the bookcase were places you visited before coming to bed

You always knew what you could do and we were amazed at how much more than us you knew

There was a comfort place in our recliner chair that became an extension of your lair

When you chased shadows on the wall we watched you leap high into the air

You were an avid hunter and daddy would follow your lead

With fly swatter in hand to eliminate the unwanted spiders, flies, and bees

On that painful night when the episode began

We convinced ourselves it would pass and all this would never end

We panicked and didn’t know what to do, so desperate we were to save you

Our lives had been turned upside down, misdiagnosed, and the cause never found,

In disbelief we cried out loud, angels came and wept with us, as we sat on the cold, hard ground.

You were ready, we were not, and when you said goodbye, we were still trying,

As fresh tears washed over our already stained faces, to hold you one more night

A painful decision there had to be – no one could help – just us three

You were right; we had to help you cross, you guided our hand, because we were so lost

We huddled together one last time sobbing softly into the hot stinging rain

Run free sweet boy, Whiskey Cat, our loving gift to you is no more pain.

And now that place you claimed as yours is empty in our recliner chair

The head we stroked so lovingly no longer sleeps with us there

That soft purr and precocious meow we loved to hear no longer fills our home and lair

We often wonder if you knew, ‘cause boy, we sure didn’t have a clue

You were our baby, our child, our confidant, and our best friend

Our knight in shining armor, our soul mate; the love between us will never end

No final good-by will there ever be – we will one day dance again, just wait and see.

Now you’re a star burning bright, a wisp of wind in the summer night.

The fog, the rain, the autumn air, our Whiskey Cat is everywhere.

Take a deep breath and sniff the grass, lunge and leap high into the air,

Graze with friends and dance alone – until one day we come to you again to share a home

Sometimes I feel your breathe on my face, but when I look I see no trace.

Whiskey Cat, You will always be our little buddy. You taught us so much. We will one day be side by side again. When that time comes you will never ever have to dance alone.

Ron & Deb Gossett - For Our Whisk…Written with Tears Stinging our Face