A Pictorial Ode to George

George is still at the vet.  We all went to see him today.  He's incredibly thin.  He's now down to 12 pounds.  For him that's skin and bone, practically.  It was surreal to pick him up and not have to heft him at all.  He was very lethargic from the meds and the like he received today.  His prognosis is not looking good.  We're probably going to give him another day or so to see if the new meds work or not, and if not, he's not coming home.  He will be very missed.  He's our first pet.

We got him in February of 2002 from the Alexandria Animal Shelter.  He was by far the most awesome cat there!  The worker was taking us around the cat room and showing us the different cats.  We got to George and she said, "And this little fella's name is George.  We can't put a tag up for him because he keeps ripping it down."

All we saw was an orange paw sticking out of the cage.  The worker left us to see if we could make a decision.  The first cat I grabbed out of a cage was George.  He snuggled right up in my arms.  He was very vibrant and ALIVE.  I handed him to Matt, and he snuggled into his arms too and then licked Matt's nose!  We knew he was the cat for us.  I still took one other cat out of its cage and held it, and it just sat in my arms like dead weight.  George was definitely the right choice.  We took him home that very night.  A quick stop by Wal-Mart to get the needed items for owning a cat, and we were on our way.  He is/was many things to us:

Our forever curious kitty, always investigating

Our playful kitty, playing with whatever he could find.  Sometimes he would try to hide toys under his belly and then look around like he didn't know where it went. 

Our confused kitty.  Sometimes he acted more like a dog than a cat.

Our sharing kitty.  He liked to share Dad's lap with the babies (Kirstin here).

Our dirty kitty.  Any time he could get outside in the dirt, he would do this.  He would come in gray and wouldn't turn orange for a while.

Our clean kitty.  Sometimes he needed help.  I haven't done this in a long time.

Our annoyed kitty.  Especially when I wouldn't let him rest or would purposely pet his belly.  I came away with many scratches from trying that too often.

Our personable kitty.  He generally loved being around visitors and the like.

Our catable? cat.  Only with Felix though.  Any other cats and he would fight.  He and Felix had many fights at first, but then became good friends with only an occasional skirmish.  Usually in the middle of the night.  On our bed.

Our long tailed cat.  He was forever getting in the way with his tail.

And sometimes he didn't seem to understand his tail was part of him.  He would catch it to clean it.

Our tired kitty.  He looks so ferocious when he yawns!

Our resting kitten.  And let me say, he was always a good foot warmer in the night.

Our patient kitty, especially with our girls.

Our supportive kitty.  He liked to help.  Or get some love.  Whichever.

A member of our family.  He would often try to get in on the photo shoots.

And so we say good bye to a wonderful orange cat.  George, Georgous Gorge, Long Tail Stinky Butt, Little Demon, you'll be missed greatly.  Thank you for all your wonderfulness over the years.  Love ya, buddy.