I’ve wanted to write about Miko, my sweet, loving and loyal feline friend, but I haven’t had the words to do it. Miko died on August 23rd. We put him to sleep after learning he was having kidney failure. It happened very quickly, the way these things often do. One day he was his normal, happy self and the next (or so it seemed), he was gone.
I’ve lost many pets in my lifetime and I understand what the loss feels like. This time though, I’ve been surprised at how much I miss that fat cat. He was such a wonderful companion to me.
I remember the day I first brought Miko home. He was just 6 weeks old, a tiny puff of black fur, with clear blue eyes. I chose him from a litter of 6 because his eyes were so bright. He was a momma’s boy from the very beginning. So sweet, so anxious to please, so committed to being good.
I had another cat at the time – Sammi – who was a feline derelict if there ever was one. Sammi had enough confidence (but not arrogance) for 10 cats and she was bratty on top of that. If she were human, I would have had to send her to a home for troubled girls. She would have worn dark mascara and leather and a studded choker and she would have smoked unfiltered cigarettes. And if cats could do such a thing, I would have come home one day just after her 14th birthday to find that she had tattooed the name of her dumb ass boyfriend on her beautiful, perfect shoulder.
In fact Sammi did have a boyfriend, but he wasn’t a dumb ass. Using the little bit of brains she had, Sammi wisely fell in love with Miko just as soon as he was old enough to return her affection. And who could blame her? Miko was a very nice young male cat. Sammi threw herself at Miko (hussy that she was), but he respected her and never did take advantage of her. Actually, the fact that Miko had been neutered and Sammi had not yet been spade might have had something to do with it, but I prefer to think that Miko was just being a gentleman.
Sammi did everything she could to corrupt Miko. Once, while dashing through my legs and out the open door (even though she knew outdoors was off limits), I swear I heard her call out to Miko, “Come on Miko, all the cool cats are doing this. We won’t get caught. Come ONNNNN.” But Miko stood dutifully at the door – looking wistfully after his friend. He just didn’t have it in him to break the rules. He never did. Sammi tried hard to turn him to the dark side, but Miko remained perfectly behaved, and grew sweeter every day.
When I met Sam and Katherine, Miko adopted them immediately. He took to Sam like he had taken to no one else, allowing Sam to rock him and hold him like a baby. (By that time he was nearly as big as one!) And he developed a very special affection for Katherine. I remember telling Katherine when she was 10 that Miko had always wanted his “very own little girl.” And I believe it was true. He followed her everywhere and allowed her to play with him however she wanted.
In the evenings, Miko would sit on the arm of Sam’s chair as he worked on his computer. He would join me in bed once Sam was finished and slept next to my head most of the night, his front paw resting on my shoulder. And each morning he would go in to wake up Katherine just as her alarm went off. He would spend the rest of the morning following her about as she got ready for school and would be waiting patiently for her when she returned from school.
Miko loved a party and was thrilled when we had company. He would have been a terrible ‘watch cat” because he never met a stranger and quickly perched himself upon the leg of anyone who dared to take a seat in our house. He was at the top of his game when we had a large gathering of friends at our house. He would go from person to person acknowledging them and giving them a nuzzle and a rub.
And Miko loved to play! We had toys all around the house for him and we frequently marveled at how he never seemed to lose his kitten like curiosity.
As Miko grew older he developed a bit of a weight problem. Well, actually quite a bit of a weight problem. Miko turned into one fat cat! He had a waddle that hung practically to the floor and we had a good time teasing him about it. We tried putting him on a diet, but he got so stressed out about not having his dish full of food that we eventually gave up and decided to let him be fat and happy.
Miko was a lover, one of the most affectionate cats I’ve ever known. He didn’t have a mean or arrogant bone in his body and he loved us with an intensity that I wish everyone could have the opportunity to experience.
Katherine and I stayed with Miko as the vet put him to sleep. We wanted to be the last ones he saw as he went to sleep. It was hard, so very sad, but felt the very right thing to do.
Since then, all three of us have spied him walking through the house. I guess we are just so used to him being there that any shadow makes us think of him. I am sitting in my meditation room right now, alone in the house as Sam and Katherine are at a movie. If Miko were still alive, he would be curled up right next to me. And if I got up to go to the bathroom, I would find that he had taken the warm spot of my seat in the short time I was gone.
I miss Miko terribly. I miss his sweetness, his purity, his loyalty, his funny ways, the warmth of his paw on my arm as I slept, and yes, maybe even the fur that constantly had to be vacuumed from the carpet and furniture. But I am grateful for the 10 years we spent together. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
I love you Miko. I hope there are lots of catnip, yarn and dripping water wherever you are. You are a good kitty - a very good kitty.
