Engineer's Daughter

orson 1995-2009

heidi meets orson at the animal shelter
Originally uploaded by stutefish

The day after Cardiff died in January I knew I wanted another cat, so I headed off to the Berkeley shelter with Lori. "Max" had already caught my eye on the Virtual Pet Adoptions Web site, and once I saw his sad face peering out at me from his cage with one of his ears all tattered my heart was similarly caught. I changed his name to Orson, and as soon as I brought him home he was already showing signs of perking up by exploring his new environs with abandon, purring deeply at the slightest provocation, and pushing Richter away with a disaffected paw when the other cat tried to make friends. Orson was very sure of himself right up until the very end. He was going to be the one to decide when he wanted to be on your lap, what he wanted to eat. But he was also there to greet me at the door every day when I came home from work, meowing his chirpy meow, until he was too weak from cancer to stand anymore. I'm so grateful I had the last six short months with him, and that I could give him sunbeams to sleep in and windows to look out of as happier alternatives to that cold shelter cage. You can see a small photoset of the sweet kitty right here.

goodbye

furry monster
Originally uploaded by veritatem

This morning Orson fell asleep for the last time in my arms while being attended to by the wonderful Dr. Reid at Campus Vet. We all knew it was the right time, but it's still the saddest thing ever. I will miss his soft fur and his big nose and his rumblepurr. He was a good cat.

eyewitness

orson
Originally uploaded by Tensegrity Dan

My kitty cat Orson was diagnosed with inoperable cancer just a few months after I adopted him earlier this year, and my instinct tells me that he is winding down for good this week. He was relatively bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when Dan and Carol came over yesterday though, and Dan posted some lovely pictures from the visit. You can see the rest of them as well as some other recent Flickr favorites of mine right over here.