From the mind of Hamish

My views on news, current events, sports and the general goings on in my life.

Sunday, April 04, 2004

A tribute to Merlin


On Thursday night our oldest kitten Merlin was hit and killed by a car. I thought it might be appropriate to say a few words about such a special cat here.

We got Merlin from the SPCA in early December. My fiance Jess had always had cats and really wanted to get one. I had never had a pet, except two goldfish when I was very young and was a little unsure. Added to that was the fact that cats give me terrible hayfever. But in the end, I decided to get a cat. We saw two very timid, and very cute black kittens in a cage and chose one. He meowed all the way home, obviously not liking the ride inside the box. However once we got him home, I started to have a lot of second thoughts. How could I be responsible for this life? Was I really ready for it? In the end I decided I wasn't ready, and we decided to return the unnamed kitten on Monday.

I wasn't ready for what happened next. Jess went out somewhere, leaving me at home feeling sorry for myself when this little ball of fluff came up and went to sleep purring on my lap. Suddenly I knew I wanted to keep this kitten. Soon after we named him Merlin.

We had great fun with Merlin, he was so playful and so full of energy. I hated having to lock him in the kitchen every night, but he always seemed to like playing with the cables of my entertainment unit. He also proved himself to be very intelligent, climbing out of the kitchen window to outside, then opening the sliding door, and finally climbing through the cupboard between the kitchen and dining areas.

Later we got ourselves a second kitten, a silver tabby named Cookie. To begin with they were not the best of friends, as Merlin was fascinated by her tail, and Cookie wanted to be left alone. Eventually we let the two of them fight it out, and they became the best of friends, exploring, playing and play fighting together.

Healthy, skinny and graceful, Merlin looked like a mini panther, in fact many a time I referred to him and the "Panther-Man". He walked, rarely ran but when he did he was fast. He would play with us, but often it seemed he was playing to please us, not himself.

Then on Thursday night a neighbor knocked on our door to give us the bad news. Both Jess and I were beside ourselves as we looked at his body. Even in death he was beautiful. Altho he was with us such a short time, he touched our lives greatly and we will never forget him. I have to accept it was part of God's greater plan, but that doesn't mean that the plan sucks!

Merlin always walked around like he was the King, and he will remain the King of my heart.