The Greatest Cat in the World – Tribute

17Dec07

Some time ago I discovered something about myself that really should have been obvious to me from the start. See, while I am somewhat obsessed with ’super animals’ (i.e., Krypto, Ace the Bat Hound, Dynomutt) I just never realized where the fascination came from. Yes, I do work at an animal shelter when I’m not trafficking in the comic world and I do care for animals quite a bit, but still, why something as silly as a dog (or even a cat!) wearing a cape?

Some self analysis revealed the following: These ’super-pets’ are not only the embodiment of the ultimate ‘best friend’, ala Krypto, but they can never be hurt, abandoned, left to starve or suffer. These fictional animals are meta-creatures that can survive all the intentional and random cruelties that this world we live in can subject them to.

And they can live forever.

It is a rare occasion where Superman will have to say goodbye to Krypto, Supergirl to Streaky, Blue Falcon to Dynomutt, etc. (Unless, of course, Alan Moore is writing the ‘last’ Superman story and is out to torture his readers.)

If only the real world were so merciful.

While Timon didn’t arrive in an experimental space craft from Krypton, he was still a very special cat. A tiny ball of a tabby, I first saw him in the shelter isolation ward, housed there because of a severe upper respiratory infection. I’d never fostered an animal before, and many of my co-workers were surprised when I agreed to foster the little tabby kitten. He came into my home, and made sure that I never brought him back. From his little banzai leaps off the headboard of my bed to awake me for his AM feeding, to how he loved me to cradle him in my arms like an infant. (I’m not the maudlin type, really, and I try to not romanticize animals at all. ) This little guy just struck a chord with me. Living alone at the time, he was my sleeping buddy and silent companion. Then came other animals and he just went with the flow, dealing with the intrusion upon my attention, never demanding more than his meals and an occasional cuddle. But if he was sitting next to me on the couch and one of the dogs wanted that space, tough, he was there first.

He sure was. First in my heart, curled up and enjoying a cat nap.

And now he’s gone, taken from me all too soon as the Lord above only gave his tiny heart so many beats to live. And leaving me without my buddy to snuggle with on the couch these cold winter nights. Life is just not fair sometimes. I guess it just is what it is. If only it could be like in the comic books.

Goodbye little man. I’ll miss you.

Timon – One Great Cat
1995 – 2007

Filed under: Life   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Pets