As soon I as we arrived at my apartment, I released them from their carriers in my bedroom. I laid down on my bed worrying about what I had gotten myself into by adopting these guys. Astro jumped right up on the bed and immediately laid on my chest like he was saying 'thank you' for saving him and his brother. And that's just how he was - I never had an empty lap in the nearly 12+ years I had the privilege to live with him.

Astro was the greeter! Any time anyone came to the door he was there. He was also my shadow and would follow me around the house and stay at my side. He never wanted to miss a minute of anything (even to his detriment at times when he would push himself to stay awake and get really grumpy).

Astro loved his brother Cosmo more than anything. These bonded boys were inseparable...playing together (fighting at times like siblings do), napping together and grooming each other. He taught his brother bad habits. Astro was quite obsessed with plastic and would chew on anything plastic he could sink his teeth into including shower curtain liners, zip loc bags, shopping bags, etc. He taught his best friend Cosmo to do this too.

Now his brother Cosmo is quite lost without his best bud.

He would sleep on his own pillow above my head at night and position himself so that we would sleep cheek to cheek.What I would give to have him there again! He loved being brushed and playing with his toys even up to the very end.

Astro absolutely hated when I would go to work in the morning and would try to block the door so I couldn't leave. Sometimes he would do an actual somersault into the door and block the door with his bodies. Other times, he would 'yell' at me until I went back in the living room and played with him with his toys. I would have to work really hard to distract him to be able to slip out the door.

As he got older and started getting arthritic, he became very creative to navigate the house and still get on the counter. He would climb on the kitchen table, walk across the back of chair and get to the counter. Once on the counter, he would cause all kinds of mischief. But he loved pineapples! If a pineapple present, he would rub his face on the prickly leaves (and then have a guilty look on his face when caught doing it).

Even as Astro's health started to decline, he still did everything to stay active and involved with his family. He took care of us as much as we took care of him!

Saying goodbye to you is one of the hardest things, I've ever had to do. I love you so much Astro! You were one of a kind and I treasure the years we had together.

11/9/2020 - Today's been a year since I said farewell to you and it really doesn't hurt any less. I miss you and think about you all the time Buddy. You left a big gap in the household that no one has really been able to fill. Cosmo misses you too. He now sleeps in your bed all the time (which he never did before).

I was just thinking the other day about how you would be so excited to see me when I came home from a work trip. You would meow and meow and not let me out of your sight and I would pick you up and carry you around with my face buried in your fur.

Please also visit Cosmo.