My Week 231: A Tribute To A Lovely Floof

Sunshine kitty.

I’ve written a lot over the years about Raven, our little Persian cat. Unfortunately, she passed away last week at the age of 14. I went back over some old blogs and found this one, and I’ve revised it a little as a tribute to her. She was lovely and sweet, a bit of a diva, and we loved her very much..

June 6, 2015

I got home on Friday afternoon and Raven was sitting in the living room. She had her back to me, and refused to look at me.

Me: What’s wrong? I haven’t seen you all week and this is how you greet me?
 Raven: I read your last blog.
Me: So? Didn’t you think it was funny?
Raven: Funny? FUNNY!? That’s the 4th time you’ve written extensively about that oaf Titus. You know what I get? POO. Every goddamn time, you talk about my poo. I’m fed up with it.
Me: Well, you poo a LOT. But I take your point.

So I feel compelled to write a little something about Raven. Which is hard, because, aside from the pooing and her keen literary analysis skills, like most older cats, she doesn’t actually do much (sorry, Raven, but you know it’s true. For example, you just spent 11 hours lying on the back of the chair in the living room). But she DOES have some tricks and little quirks that endear her to us:

She comes when you call her. Most of the time. Other times, she just looks at you like, “What?”

She will meow at you until you follow her, then she will lead you to the bathroom and let you know what she needs with a series of glances. The other day, she beckoned me forth, and when we arrived, she sat down in front of the litter box. She looked at me, then looked at the box dolefully. I looked at her. Then she looked at the box again and I realized it needed to be cleaned. Which I did, resulting in her promptly using it again WHILE I WAS IN THE ROOM. No sense of dignity, that one. She also does the same thing when her water or food bowl need to be replenished.

She will jump up onto your lap if you pat your knee, then jump down when you stand up. You don’t even have to say anything—she just GETS the force of gravity.

She likes to play this game where, when you walk behind her, she starts to run away from you like she thinks you’re chasing her. Even when you say, “I’m not chasing you—calm down!”, she still keeps playing.

She waits until you stand up from your chair then jumps into the warm spot. Then when you try to sit back down, she won’t move. You pretty much have to sit AROUND her, or perch on the edge of the seat to avoid squashing her, and then she taps you on the back so that you’ll reach around and pet her. In the winter, she likes to crawl under the covers, squeeze up right against you, and fall asleep purring, which is very soothing.

She refuses to go outside. You know how some cats lurk by the door and try to dart out any chance they get? Not Raven. Once, she accidentally wandered out onto the front porch when the door was left open. When I saw her, she was just sitting there looking confused and scared. Then she saw me and ran back INTO the house. Yep, definitely not a nature lover.

When I come home at the end of the week, the second she hears my voice, she starts meowing from wherever she is in the house, and runs to greet me. Then she stops just outside the kitchen to avoid being trampled by Titus, who is also very excited and most likely yelling, “This is the best day EVER!”, and she waits for me to pick her up and cuddle her.

I think her best trick, though, is that when she’s really happy to see you, not only does she purr, but she leans up and gives you little kisses on your face. I don’t mean licking—I mean little pecks with her muzzle that let you know that she loves you. And we love you too, you crazy, poopy cat.

RIP Raven. We’ll miss you.

Full coat, but she preferred being clipped.

59 thoughts on “My Week 231: A Tribute To A Lovely Floof”

      • She does look a bit grumpy in her photos but, I’m sure she wasn’t, like you mentioned. It’s hard to tell when a cat is happy or not, at least my cat Charlie. He seems to just walk around with this “meh” cattitude. But at night, gawd he’s like he belongs at NASCAR, running, jumping causing all sorts of commotion. If I get up and open my bedroom door, catching him mid-sprint, he just looks at me like “What? Go back to sleep, I’m working” then spends all day asleep. If I make too much noise he turns to me and gives me stink eyes and I stop and look at him “What, go back to sleep I’m working.” I swear he can roll his eyes, really I do, lol.

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  3. So sorry for your loss! Raven was beautiful!! (I might be a bit biased, since she was a dark version of Freja, but still…)

    You tribute post gave me good giggles, and reminded me of an experiment I did two and a half years ago. I thought maybe you’d find it funny too because Raven and Freja seem to have a lot in common,

    Litterbox story…

    *big hugs*

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  4. I hated to “star” this because you know by now that I’m the Crazy Cat Lady of Pennsylvania. What a beautiful girl. What a loss! I will hug my babies tighter today, especially my old guys, who are 12 and 11, because I want them to be with me for 30 years but I know better. I am so sorry for your loss. ❤

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  6. Allen St. Clair says:

    I’m so sorry to hear about your loss, digital fren. Sounds like she was an extraordinary cat. The first cat I ever had lived to 23–but even that wasn’t long enough. Our furry pals are sometimes the best pals.

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    • 23? Wow! The oldest cat we ever had lived to 17, so I felt pretty good about Raven making it to 14. She was a rescue cat, so who knows what she’d been through before we got her–at any rate, we were lucky to have had her as long as we did:-)

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  9. I can’t remember when I became one of your dang regular readers, but I feel like I got to know Raven over the years and will miss her. And I know what it’s like to love and lose…the word “pet” just doesn’t seem right because they really are family, aren’t they? Clearly Raven was very smart, too, and has left you with so much more than just a litterbox that needs to be emptied.

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    • Yes, I was actually thinking earlier that you would know Raven better than most. She WAS a very clever cat, with a really gentle personality. I’ll miss the way she used to tap me on the back when she wanted attention ❤️

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  10. Oh, Suzanne, I am so sorry. This is a beautiful tribute to Raven. What a wonderful beautiful girl! I also have a senior cat and it is hard to watch her slowing down. I can’t believe I was going on about my stupid recordings when you had suffered this loss; I am so sorry.

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  15. As you know I’m something of a pet person myself, and I admit that losing one of them gems is among the hardest things we go through. Very sorry for your loss, sister. Raven seemed like a fun friend and a loving kitty.

    Even if her modesty inside the box left something to be desired at times. 😊

    Much love to you, Ken, and Titus in the aftermath of this. RIP sweet Raven!

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  19. Oh, I am so sorry. I always call my dog our furry angel and I think a lot of friends feel that way about their pet–cat or dog. I hope you are left with happy memories, knowing you gave her a loving home.

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  22. Oh, what a Floof and a half. Such a gorgeous puddy-cat and I’m so sorry to read this sad but funny and beautiful tribute. These damn small animals leave really big holes in our lives don’t they? I am also owned by a 14 year old cat, so my heart goes out to you. How very lucky your Raven was to be rescued by such a loving family.

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