The Long Kiss Goodbye

When we moved in with my in-laws one of our biggest concerns was our pets.  We knew the dog would be ok, but the cats were a whole other ball of wax. ... yarn I suppose is more appropriate.  My in-laws are cat people, but that word "cat" is very plural as they've gone through quite a few over the years.  Their home is a beautiful Mediterranean style building, but as such it's designed to have that open air vibe.  All their cats are, therefore, required to become accustomed to life outside - and with the channel running behind the house proving to be a highway for coyote traffic, most of them have ended up as lunch.  When we moved in they had Simba, who's like a real life version of Garfield so, despite going outside from time to time, he divides most of his day between the sofa and his food bowl and seems to be in this for the long haul.  To keep our strictly indoor cats off the menu, we were very cautious about keeping doors closed and cats indoors.  Unfortunately someone had a laps in the new protocol and Gina came down stairs Tuesday morning to find a wide open door to the courtyard.  Fila has not been seen since.  It's safe to say that, given her 0 hours of outdoor time in her 4 1/2 years, she's no longer among the living.  It's unfortunate too, because as far as cats go she was as good as they get.  You've seen the video's of the girls dragging her around and the pictures of her snuggled up with the dog.  She was absolutely perfect.  Anyone who ever met her (even strictly dog people) couldn't help but cope to the fact that she was pretty awesome.  Even her name, Fila, is short for the Greek word "kiss", which we gave her because of her undying affection and need to lick whom ever was willing to pet her.  She will be missed. ... much more than this particular dog person every realized.  So, in memorial, here are some things to remember her by.

The kitten that would not get out of my underwear

Man's best friend and dog's best friend.

Dog meet cat.

Always comfortable.

Always.

Great at hugs. ... even from newbies.

and of course, the piece de' resistance. ... watch till the end