Oscar was born into the chaos of the post-Katrina gulf coast of Mississippi in late 2007, a fuzzy ball of eyes and ears. My brother found him wandering the streets, obviously without a home, and took him in. Two years later, when by brother and I became roommates, I met my best friend for the next ten years.
Oscar chose me from day one. He curled up next to me to sleep the first night and never left my side. When my brother and I went our separate ways, there was no discussion to be had: Oscar was mine. He had chosen me.
And I am so grateful that he did.
The next five years were a dark time in my life; a time of self-imposed isolation and depression. But as I lost myself in loneliness, there were always two giant eyes and a rumbling purr that wanted nothing more than to be by my side. I was ultimately saved from this spiral when I met Michelle, but there's no telling where I'd be without Oscar keep me afloat during this low period. He met me at the door any time I came home with an excited chirp. He curled up on my lap as soon as I would sit down. He assumed his usual spot in the crook of my knees every night and sprawled on my chest waiting for me to wake up every morning. He was always there to cheer me up with one of his toys when he could tell I wasn't feeling well, something he started doing for Michelle after my move. Since he had to drag them along behind him as he had to keep his head high as he walked, which made him look so proud of what he as doing. And when we would tell him he was a good boy after doing so, he would smile.
He was never the perfect cat. He couldn't grow a straight whisker. He had his share of random medical issues (an ulcer in his eye - yeah, that can happen - and heart murmur among them) and he never saw eye-to-eye with the litter box. The latter got so bad a few months after I moved to Pennsylvania that we gave him up to a foster home to help retrain him and find him another home. It crushed me to say goodbye to him, but I knew he was going somewhere To our surprise, he came back home to us a few weeks later, seemingly with corrected behavior.
But the underlying anxiety issues never went away. We put him on medication for it a few weeks ago and when we noticed his breathing became labored and shallow, we figured it was an adverse reaction to the meds. So we started weening him off of them. But he went downhill fast, and mere days later, when he was struggling merely to maintain life, a trip to the vet resulted in our worst fears. His chest was filled with fluid and his heart was failing. We had to make the obvious but heartbreaking decision.
This week I said my last goodbye to my oldest friend, and I will miss everything about him. Rest peacefully, Oscar. I will look for your face to greet me at the door every day for the rest of my life.
dededos
theartofmadeline
turnnoffyourmind
janainaart
stormborns
origamiaround
ellievsbear
