At 10.30 on Monday evening, I got a call from the local vet's. I couldn't work out why they'd be ringing at that time and I was convinced they'd got the wrong number. Sadly, not the case. They were calling to tell me that Cosmo had been run over. Some kind soul had at least taken him to the vets so they could trace him through his tracking chip... otherwise, he'd have just disappeared and we'd never have known he was dead.
Cosmo was a very independent animal. He treated our house like a hotel where he'd come and snooze, top up on biscuits, and then head back out on his adventures. He would announce his arrival with a short "Breep" and trip you up until you filled his dish. If it was raining, he'd barge in while you were watching TV and demand you towel him down. He wasn't an affectionate cat, didn't like being picked up, would occasionally bite you if you tried to stroke him... yet he had a surprising bond with Sam. He would bash down Sam's bedroom door early in the morning and cuddle up with Sam on the bed.
He could lie down like no other cat I've ever known. As though he was stretching himself out as far as he could go. Like one of those rugs with a lion's head at one end.
He would even hang off the banister like this... and make it seem comfortable. There's a poem by Eleanor Farjeon called Cats Sleep Anywhere. If I didn't know better, I'd think she'd written it about Cosmo.
This is the last photo I took of Cosmo, on Sunday. There was a competition in Sam's magazine to send a photo of your pet with a copy... I never got round to emailing it. Probably for the best.
I didn't want to call him Cosmo, but I was out-voted. He wasn't named after Cosmo Jarvis, although Sam does like a few of that Cosmo's songs. Especially the rather bawdy one below...
Cosmo was only two years old when he died, but he leaves a big hole in our lives.
Really sorry to hear this, Rol. Cosmo sounds much like our feline overlord, in terms of behaviour and manners (though ours headbutts me in the chin, rather than nips). I've never considered myself a cat person, and was out-voted on pet choice, but I've been won over, and know that she will leave a big hole in our lives whenever she goes.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so sorry Rol. I can get Cosmo's character just from those lovely photos, the banister pic is a corker. I remember the pics you posted of his kittenhood too. How do cats manage to make everything they do look like they really mean it, well of course, and we're the stupid ones for not understanding why or what the hell they're up to? They are brilliant creatures, driving us mad at the same time as making us love them. Cosmo clearly had a very happy life, my heart goes out to you all right now.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear your sad news, Rol.
ReplyDeleteOh my, so sorry to hear this news Rol. Seems like no time since you got him. What a fantastic set of pictures as well - he will leave a big hole in your lives as you say.
ReplyDeleteIn spite of the sad news contained within the post, I couldn't help but smile at these photos of Cosmo. What a character he must have been and how brilliantly you've captured his particular idiosyncrasies. I'm really sorry to hear about this Rol.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear the news Rol.
ReplyDelete"It's just a pet" cry those that don't have pets - no, they're part of the family, part of the fabric of life
(currently bracing myself watching the downward turn of my 15 year old Jack Russell)