Readers of this blog may remember that Daniel, 12, passed in late 2008, and that on his birthday the following year, a friend of ours said they had a gift for Daniel. Our friend Jan allowed us to pick one of her six week old kittens as a birthday present for Daniel. We would love and raise him, and someday when he passed, Daniel would finally get the cat he wanted, but couldn't have, due to allergies during his time on Earth.
I picked a beautiful sleeping kitten who was about six weeks old, and took him home. We named him, exactly as Daniel would have, which was MacIntosh II, after a cat who belonged to a friend that Daniel liked a great deal. MacIntosh I, actually attended Daniel's Celebration of Life in a cat carrier.
Very quickly, MacIntosh II became Tosh. He was a healthy, inquisitive and a very bright cat who adapted to life inside our farm house. Tosh was not only highly intelligent, but he was adaptable as well. Over time, we added two little dogs inside the house. We have other dogs in a kennel on the farm who do patrol and animal corralling duties. When we would leave the house, we would tell the tiny indoor dogs, "Be Good. The cat's in charge", and he was.
Tosh has been a special family member to my husband and I, our adult kids, and he's special to our grandson, Nik as well.
Tosh as a baby cat
Tosh has truly been a joy. He was incredibly gentle even after Nik was born and spent a lot of time here. Toddlers are often tough on cats, but Tosh always knew he was a growing child, and never once scratched him. Our daughter sent us a video recently that shows Tosh walking on the piano as if to simulate practicing scales. Tosh found many ways to entertain himself and to entertain us.
It's hard to believe that fifteen years has gone by. So much here has changed, and so much has stayed the same. We knew that Tosh was getting older but he was healthy and moving well and we didn't dwell on it much. A couple of weeks ago, Tosh had a stroke, and was recovering from it. Then, a couple of days ago, he wasn't eating well, and was just drinking. He was checked for diabetes, which was negative.
Tosh was a little anxious last evening and we made sure he got a lot of love and attention. We told him that we thought soon he would pass and go to God, and that God would make sure Daniel got his cat. This morning, I checked on Tosh, helped him drink some water, repositioned him, and told him how much we loved him. At 6:36 am, he passed. The cat is as beautiful as a cat whose soul has passed to the next plane, as he was alive.
Thank you Tosh for helping us as we were grieving for Daniel. Thank you for giving us endless hours of companionship, amusement and joy. You were an uncommonly bright, loving and human cat in so many ways. I know Daniel will be thrilled to have you join him. I love you Buddy, and we all do. Please send love to Brielle (Adam's cat) also.
Today, it is raining hard as if the angels are crying, just as are we.
Prior posts on the subject of Tosh, "Daniel's cat"
https://learnedfromdaniel.blogspot.com/2022/06/an-update-on-daniels-cat-tosh.html
https://learnedfromdaniel.blogspot.com/2013/02/time-with-tosh.html
https://learnedfromdaniel.blogspot.com/2009/06/tosh.html
