Avalon: 1991-2005

Subject: Avalon: 1991-2005
From: Scott Zrubek
Newsgroups: sff.discuss.cats

We brought him into our house in the Summer of 91, shortly after we'd
moved into the house. We picked him up because we thought Pypn (who
died earlier this year) could use a playmate. We picked him up at the
ripe old age of six weeks and he was neutered before we were able to
take him home. This may have affected his personality somewhat.

Avalon was lucky. His card at the SPCA listed him as DMH (Domestic
Medium Hair). I had been told I could not bring home a long-haired cat.
When Kim saw the guy in whom I was interested, she pointed to his
longish fur. I pointed to the card on his cage. She sighed. I
cheered.

He was a darling little kitten, best known for climbing into the
telephone stand and hiding behind the telephone books. He'd reach out
and snag a shoestring if we dangled one nearby with "The Claw". He'd
curl his paw around that string and happily munch away.

We took him to be groomed once, with Pypn. We think this may have had a
severe effect on his psyche. Several days after we brought him home from
the groomer, we noticed a several inch long scar on his belly. I think
he was far more reserved from this point on.

He was not an adventurous cat. When visitors would come to the house,
he would head to our back bedroom. He might grace us with his presence
in 20 minutes or so, if he knew that not too many folks were in the
house. If he recognized the voices as familiar he would come out, as
well.

He loved the rattan chair that Kim's parents gave us a number of years
ago. It was his favorite spot, a great spot to watch our front yard.
He'd sleep in it and watch the world in the front of the house go by.
Unfortunately, he was unable to enjoy it for the past few months, as the
chair was behind toddler gates that we set up to block part of the house
off from the dogs. He was unwilling to jump over the gates to get to
his chair and we had no place to put it for him to get to.

As a fighter, he wasn't very skilled, but he got lots of practice. The
other cats would brush up on their skills with him. He perfected the
"Bear" posture and he and Hobeaux would battle in that posture for
minutes on end with no sounds being made. Very Zen-like.

He did not like the outdoors, and would scuttle away from an open door
if it presented itself until recently. After we fenced in the yard for
the dogs, he considered the back yard a safe environment and he would
wander around for short periods of time. As recently as Friday, he was
interested in going outside.

He ended up being our biggest cat at 20 lbs. He did not achieve such
stature until recently, but it did affect his ability to keep his medium
length fur in good shape. I was cutting mats out on a regular basis
over the past 2 years.

He was a trooper at the end. He was willing to make the effort to get
off of the vet's table and go somewhere else. He passed quietly after
the vet performed her functions.

I hope he, Pypn and Hobeaux are curled up together keeping each other
warm. We miss them all tremendously.

Goodbye, Avalon (aka Furball and Sir Cardinal Fang)