Goodbye to Family Pet- Tribute to Teddy

Our black male cat, Theodore Bear Keating, was hit and killed by a car last week. He was only 7 months old, but big - 8 1/2 lbs. He would have been a big cat at full grown. We all took it hard - the first time the kids can remember losing a pet - but especially me because he had picked me to be his person and went everywhere I went. He was the only male cat out of four in our house (he does have a big brother who lives outside). He was bundle of love and I've never had a cat like him. I hope that some day we will be lucky enough to have a cat with his personality.

Here he is with Rich at about 4 weeks - just after we found him and his sisters in the woods behind our house.

This is how he liked to sleep - tucked in the corner of my chair in my lap. He was maybe 3 months old here. Already big!

Another baby picture - before his eyes turned YELLOW!

Here he is with his sister, Tiger Lilly. She loved Teddy, as you can see. She misses him too.

Teddy had the shiniest hair - hard to capture in a picture. I said it looked like Elvis' hair.

Below is a picture of Lilly and Teddy, drinking together. She wanted to drink, eat, sleep, potty only when he did. She is finally getting in the habit of making her own schedule without him and starting to eat a little more.

This was the last picture we took of him just two days before he died. I had come upstairs to do a little reading and he decided to take a nap on my magazine. He is sleeping with his own little "Teddy Bear". We buried it and his toys and a snack with him. We also put in a dozen dried roses. Teddy loved roses and tried to eat them every time I received or bought some. I had a bowl of dried roses on display and he would steal one and carry it around. They all went with him. The boys helped Rich bury him in the back yard near the woods.

Everyone should have the pleasure and enjoyment of a loving pet. May each of you be blessed with the unconditional love of a pet in your lifetime!