RIP Baby

We recently lost our big orange cat, affectionately called Baby. He became seriously ill and there was nothing we could do for him. It was such an emotional thing to do. I've had Baby since 2002, so he was a member of our family. I can remember when I brought him home. He could fit in the palm of my hand! He quickly grew into the big boy that he was. Had I known how big he would get, I would have named him Garfield! He was such a lover. Baby would always sleep with me at night, at the foot of the bed...usually on my feet. When I was sad, he would curl up with me on the couch and purr as loud as he could. I was concerned when we moved to the country since he had to become and outside cat. In true Baby fashion, he adapted with ease. He was declawed, yet still managed to kill mice and defend his territory. In fact, about a week before he became ill, he fought off a stray tom cat with outstanding success. I had stepped outside to see what the commotion was about and he came strutting right up to me. If he could talk he would have said "Did you see that? I made that cat leave. This is MY house." He will be missed. I still look for him when I go outside. He was such a good cat and can never be replaced in our hearts.