He passed on May 30, 2023 at about 15 years of age. Smokey first showed up one night on my porch at the apartment that I shared with my sister in the late spring of 2011. At the time we had two cats, Axl and Rose, two brothers. Smokey would sneak up onto the porch and sleep in the chair. We started to leave food and water for him and slowly we gained his trust. He had a collar but we began to wond
er if he had a home as he would come by every night. We attached a note to his collar to see if he had a home. He wore that note for two weeks with no response. We checked missing pet pages and the SPCA to see if anyone reported him missing, we even had him scanned for a microchip, all to no avail. During the daytime we would see him go into an empty farmhouse. We finally decided that someone in the apartment complex must have moved out and left him behind. During this time we lost both Axl and Rose to cancer within 3 weeks of each other. It seems Smokey came along at the right time. Smokey lived the high life with us, spoiled as every cat should be. He wasn't necessarily a cuddlebug but he did like to sit with you and sleep on the bed. He just had this cattitude that was so endearing. When I moved I had a big screened in porch built. He had his own kitty flap for total access year round. At one point I tried to take in two abandoned kittens. Smokey was not impressed. We tried it for 3 weeks or so but Smokey actually seemed depressed. I gave the kittens to my sister and he was happy again. Unfortunately less than two years later my sister and I moved in together so he was reunited with the little squirts. It went better this time around. We had another porch built and another kitty flap installed. How many cats get two porches built for them? 😸 Smokey also had the special privilege of going out in the backyard while on a leash. Smokey was a happy cat until the end. He started limping and we thought he hurt himself jumping off the counter. Despite treatment it still wasn't getting better. After several visits to the vets, we finally discovered a lump. It was cancer. The only possible treatment was amputation and that was no guarantee. Given his age and the aggressive form of cancer, we decided to pass on surgery and just love him for the time we had left. We spoiled him with rotisserie chickens and fresh cat mint and he was loved. He developed an access around his eye and began to decline. On May 30th, 2023, we helped him make his journey to the rainbow bridge. 🌈
