Velcro, We Still Miss You- A Long Post

NY cat man

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
7,033
Purraise
21,282
Halloween is big on our street, and I was putting up decorations when I heard meowing. There was a cat's head poking from our neighbor's hedge, but as soon as it saw me, the cat disappeared. It showed up again several times in the following days, but always ran off again. Finally, we started putting out food, and it would eat as soon as nobody was around. No one reported a lost cat, no one knew where it came from. All inquiries came up empty. Finally, he would allow us to pet him, and after months of debating, we brought him inside. A trip to the vet's determined he had been neutered, and was about 3 years old. He was more than just a lap cat- he was a clinger, so the only logical name was Velcro. He followed us everywhere in the house, including sleeping with us, and it was all good.
One day, about 3 years later, Velcro wasn't himself. It was a weekend, and our vet wasn't open, so we went to a clinic that was. They examined him, gave him fluids, a steroid shot, and enough pain meds to last til Monday, when we took him in. They kept him to run tests, and called Tuesday with the news. Cancer. No treatment. No hope.
When we arrived, they brought Velcro to us in one of the treatment rooms, and gave us some time alone with him, and Michele held him as he was put to sleep, and held him all the way home, where I built a coffin for him. Wrapped in his favorite blanket, he was buried in a sunny spot in our back yard, and a marker was placed.
Now, cue the Twilight Zone theme. Velcro was a short- haired tuxedo, with a faint horizontal blaze on his left hind leg between hip and knee. About 6 weeks before he first appeared, we had lost Spooky to old age. Spooky was a short- haired tuxedo, with a faint blaze in the same spot. Spooky got his name because he first showed up as an abandoned kitten at my in-laws' house in mid- October, the same as Velcro did our house.
It has been 9 years since Velcro left us, and we miss him every day.
 

Furballsmom

Cat Devotee
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
39,270
Purraise
53,927
Location
Colorado US
What a wonderful, thoughtful tribute to two fantastic cats, who found people that loved them and took care of them, to the nth degree.

Velcro, you didn't have enough time here on this earth, but you gave everything to your people and they did as well for you. I belive you are at peace, and that you are in a place of forever sunshine and green grass with bugs to chase, and Spooky to play with :rbheart:
 

Mamanyt1953

Rules my home with an iron paw
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
31,173
Purraise
67,765
Location
North Carolina
Rest you gentle, Velcro, dream you deep. You walk in someone's heart forever.

What a lovely, loving tribute to, not one, but two cats! And how happy I am that he had the good sense to find exactly the right home, where he would be cherished for every moment of his short life. SIGH...but eternity would not have been enough, would it? It isn't, where there is love. And now, he has shrugged off that heavy coat of fur and flesh that could no longer support his loving heart and sweet spirit. He dances on sunlight now, in that place where eternity is the blink of an eye. He and Spooky, they dance together, awaiting the moment when, in the fullness of time, you, too, put off your coat of flesh and dance with them in joyous reunion. Dance on, sweet kitties, dance on!
 

Jcatbird

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 5, 2017
Messages
10,301
Purraise
58,378
Location
United States
As friends and kindred spirits we send you hearts. It good that you were able to post here about Velcro. You give others the courage to take in, not one, but two kitties to share your life and home. Your continuing efforts to honor Velcro and your other baby by saving cats is inspirational to those going through losses of their own. So many of us find that very difficult. The stories of your kitties are beautiful. Twilight zone or attracted/sent to huge hearts, I think the kitties found you for a reason. I am honored to call you friend. Rest peacefully Velcro and play in the rays of sunlight shining upon you now. Your legacy continues and the seeds you sowed will grow in the light you placed in all the hearts who read your story.
Thank you for writing about Velcro. I won’t ever forget this.
 

les26

Sylvester's daddy
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 19, 2015
Messages
2,414
Purraise
4,862
Location
Emmaus, Pennsylvania
I believe that was destiny not a spooky coincidence that it happened like that, one went out to make room for another one coming in. In 1995 when our dog Rusty had to be put down because of stomach cancer, it was 6 weeks later and I came home and Deb was standing by his grave in our backyard battling the tears, and I walked up to her and said "I think it's time that we start to think about getting some kind of animal around here", and as soon as I said that I looked over her shoulder and there was this little cat, one eye shot by some a hole with a bb gun and we eventually got her and she came in also and was named Smoke and started us on this journey of all these cats, and I KNOW that was not a coincidence, someone somewhere was just waiting for us to say the words and they pushed her out and said "now!", it was meant to be just like your story was meant to be. Bless you for taking him in all those years ago.

More tuxedos passing, my heart cries for all who are lost but see my picture and you know these hit me harder....when Sylvester goes I may just go with him, my Angel boy....I picked him up and hugged him tonight and for the 2,000th time told him "we found each other...in the darkness...we helped each other" as the more I read about these babies passing the more I realize to cherish each day with them.

I am sorry for your loss, even though it was years ago it never really truly leaves us....
 

1 bruce 1

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 8, 2016
Messages
5,948
Purraise
14,439
I kind of get this feeling sometimes that a specific animal is with us for life. Without sparking some debate on the afterlife, I think sometimes there's a particular animal that has a lot to teach us, and we have a lot to learn. Part of me feels like they do keep coming into our lives in some way, and some of them are so loyal that they want to stay with us forever in whatever way they can. It sounds like you're one of the lucky ones who might be experiencing something along those lines, but I'm no expert.
In any case, I am so very sorry for your loss(es).
 

di and bob

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 12, 2012
Messages
16,577
Purraise
22,949
Location
Nebraska, USA
I,too, do not believe it was coincidence, it was destiny. I believe that Spooky's spirit, the 'essence' that made him who he was, manifested itself once more to be a part of your life. The same coloring, the same time of the year to appear, it was fate, and I am so glad you were observant and let Velcro become a part of your life too....
You were blessed to have both of them in your life, and as you know by now, they will never really leave your life because they are such a part of your spiritual self. They became a part of you when you forged a tie that bonded your souls together. Love is spiritual, so eternal. They will forever be as close as your thoughts and prayers, and each and every time you find joy and happiness in this world they rejoice with you, and their love grows and fills you with even more. They are with you through the bad times too, lending support by being near, and forever there to lend an ear and cry with you. Purring softly to give you comfort......
My heart cries for your pain, but it rejoices too for sharing your story and your wonderful tribute to two such beautiful felines, who more than likely shared a spirit and a beautiful love for you, a bond that was strong enough to remain and to share a little more time with the one they loved so much......RIP dear Spooky and Velcro. You shared a great love with the one who loved you so much. A love so great it drew you together once more to share a life's journey for a little while longer. You will never be forgotten, you will reside forever in a loving heart. May the good Lord bless and keep you, until you meet again!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

NY cat man

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
7,033
Purraise
21,282
I want to thank Furballsmom Furballsmom , Mamanyt1953 Mamanyt1953 , Jcatbird Jcatbird , les26 les26 , @1bruce1, and @ di and bob for their responses to the story of Velcro. It made us feel better- not great, but better- for the support and understanding you all showed us.
There was much I left out, like before we brought him in, he would sit on the steps of an unoccupied house across the street waiting for Michele to get home from work in the morning. She would put out food for him, but he wouldn't come until she called.
Or the morning I was coming down the stairs to get ready to leave for work, and he ran ahead of me and lay down on the step- right as my foot was coming down where he was laying. I ended up missing him, but slammed my bare foot into one of the steps as I fell. I limped for several days after that.
I lay no claim to being a latter-day Steinbeck, and sometimes what I try to say comes off as clunky, but I, and Michele, really are appreciative of your kindness. Once again, thank you all.
 

neely

May the purr be with you
Veteran
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Messages
19,635
Purraise
47,796
My deepest sympathies and heartfelt regrets on the passing of your two adored cats, Spooky and Velcro. :angel: There's something to be said for kismet, both were males and both were tuxedos with the same exact footprint of a blaze on their left hind leg. :bicolorcat: Although they have left you their memories will live on in Michele's and your heart forever. :hugs:
 

Jcatbird

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 5, 2017
Messages
10,301
Purraise
58,378
Location
United States
I’m glad there was some small comfort for you. It’s so hard to keep moving after loss. We all support you here and we have gone through similar things. It helped me to find support here too. It doesn’t fix things but having someone else who knows the depth of love we have for our cats gives us someone to lean on. Holding each other up is why we are here. There is something to be said for the strength given by others and here, there is strength in numbers. We are a group united in our love for these sweet babies. Yours, mine and ours. They all count to each one of us and so do the people who love them.
:alright::redheartpump::redheartpump:
:grouphug2:
 
Top