He took to us right away, as we did to him. They say with rescue animals that there is a certain adaptation period and that ideally, they need a quiet room to adapt to their new home. Azraël adapted to his new home quicker than we could have hoped- in just a few hours, he was exploring the house and rubbing up against us as if to say "Thank you for rescuing me. I'm so glad to have a home." The first night, he wanted to discover so much that he had a tough time sleeping. In a few days, it was clear that he had been on the streets for a bit- he was so eager to have food and quickly ate anything we offered him. In time, he seemed to learn that food would always be available and so he slowed down his eating. He also had quite the coat of fur from being outdoors- we gave him his first brushing session and I have never seen so much fur come off a cat. He absolutely loved the brushing session and melted into his little pillow that one of the angels at the shelter gave him. It was truly heartwarming seeing him become more comfortable and learn that he was safe at home.

Azraël was the sweetest boy and it was very rare to see him upset in any way. He loved following us around and seeing what we were up to and was always up for some cuddles or lap time. Sitting in a chair or on the couch usually meant seeing a pair of bright green eyes peering up at us, sometimes tapping on us to be let up. Soft blankets were his absolute favourite, he loved to make biscuits and would purr himself to sleep. He loved brushing and petting sessions, which would also lull him to sleep and lead to making biscuits to show how happy he was. When he wasn't relaxing by lying on blankets or towels, he loved to run across the house at full speed, or play in his water fountain. His favourite toys were his collection of balls and his catnip turtle- which was his very first toy. Creamys were his absolute favourite treat and he would go nuts for them.

Azraël wore collars with bowties and we used to say that while he was a beautiful cat, bowties made him look very distinguished. He always used to greet us at the door when we returned from anywhere and if one of his parents was home but the other was away, he would meow to let them know when the other parent was returning. Spending time with Azraël was the highlight of my day and his constant presence was so comforting. He had the most beautiful shiny black fur, with big green eyes. He didn't meow much, but he would trill frequently to talk to us- a beautiful sound that we miss so much.

While we will never know Azraël's exact age since he was a rescue cat (the birth date is when the shelter found him and his age was an estimate) he was taken from this earth far too soon. We didn't see his death coming so soon since he seemed like such a healthy boy- there were zero signs he was sick. We are crushed that we couldn't be with him in his final moments- unfortunately, we were away on a trip and he died suddenly a few days before we were due to come back home- our cat sitter ended up finding him unresponsive. We believe due to how sudden his death was, it was heart-related. His heart was too big and pure for this world. Going home to an empty house was one of the most soul-crushing things we have experienced. I still look for him in his usual spots.

We take some comfort in knowing that he was somewhere warm, comfortable, and in a familiar environment when he passed, instead of being on the streets- but his death has forever changed us. We were hoping for so much more time together to love and spoil him. He truly deserved the world and more.

Azraël was one of the purest creatures we have been blessed to know. While our time together was too short, we are truly grateful for the time we had with him. We were so bonded to him, as he was to us. We hope he knows just how much he means to us and how much we love him. I didn't know how deeply I could love until I met him. He brought so much joy to our lives. He will forever have a piece of our hearts. We will miss you forever, our sweet boy, our little shadow.