I went to the Cat Adoption team in Sherwood, Oregon, looking for a cat and, knowing I wouldn't find one. I looked in every room with my best friend Lizzy, to see if there was a cat that fitted me and my lifestyle. I was disappointed. Then they said there was a cat that was just given to them. They hadn't really "processed" him yet because he was so new. They brought him out. Immediately, I was in love. He was more lion than cat. He was a lion. Weighed in at 21 pounds.
He was loveable and affectionate, for about a minute or two. Then he quickly became hypersensitive and wanted his own space. He loved sleeping with me under the covers.
When I moved to a new location, his situation was obvious. I let him go outside and he couldn't climb the stairs back up to my condo. I carried him up and then brought him to the vet on the next day. They found cancer. The size of a baseball!
The next night he would not sleep with me, so I slept with him. I put a sleeping blanket in the hall and we slept together for the last time. In the morning we went to the vet's and he was put asleep, staring at me the whole time. I thought that was only fair.