This past Sunday, 14 years of companionship came to an end. Hobbs was a people cat, not one of those snub-you-and-act-like-a-jerk cats. When I was 19 and attending my first week of college, I got Hobbs. He slept in my armpit most of his life. For several years he would go on road trips with me. Other drivers would stare and smile when they saw him happily staring back at them. Hobbs was a bird catcher and loved to play. He was nice to dogs as long as they were nice to him, otherwise he'd smack 'em right in the face.

The really crazy thing about losing a pet that has been with me for so long, is thinking of all the different phases of life he saw me through. I knew Hobbs before I could legally drink, before I was a radio DJ, a wife and a mom. He was a hit at my house parties, he met all my friends through the years and he also lived in my different houses and apartments. He sat on my lap during both my pregnancies. He adapted to living with dogs and later, kids.

Over the last several months I watched Hobbs get old and sick. He started licking his legs and tail constantly due to the pain. He was never a big cat at 8 pounds, but he was getting skinnier. He started sleeping in really weird positions and didn't seem aware of the danger of crawling babies, or the dog anymore. We made a call to the people at Home to Heaven. They came to our house on a cold Sunday morning. Our toddler was very upset and so was I. I had to be strong for her as I hugged Hobbs one last time. My husband and the vet did the deed away from us. They provided us with a keepsake of Hobbs' footprint, which helped the toddler. I have 14 years of memories and pictures of my little buddy. Losing a pet is hard!

 

More From 99.9 The Point