Ode to Doodle

My old cat Nick died today and he will be greatly missed. He was my buddy as well as Bill's and he lived to be 16.5 years old. He was known as doodle, I don't know why, but it stuck. He was also known as a few other choice nicknames when he had a bad attitude or did something wrong. Nick was with me when I moved to Clemson and would sing to me all the way home (aka meow). I remember the time I thought that he would do better if I let him out of his cage for the ride, boy was I wrong. That cat was all over the car and wouldn't sit still.

Nick was actually one of the reasons I knew Bill was a keeper. On our first date, Bill came in my Mom's house (that is where I was staying that weekend, as I still lived in Albany) and Nick and another cat we had named Norman got in Bill's lap. These cats don't do this to anyone new!

My morning routine will never be the same because Nick came in every morning to have his teeth flossed. Didn't help his breath any, but he loved it just the same.

Nick, Christmas 2007
When we originally got these antlers back when I was in college he was the only cat the didn't freak out and run when they were put on. He didn't like them by any means, he was just too lazy to do anything about it.

This bib says "Mommy loves me"

Nick loved his Meredith and watched over her all the time when she was a baby. He also was very tolerant of her wanting to pet him (read: grab his fur).

One final memory is one time when I had to go out of town while at Clemson and my friend Brooke took care of Nick. She took him over to another friends' apartment and one of them saw Nick in the kitchen and said "Hey, you know there is a mountain lion in your kitchen?" He was a big boy.

I love you doodle, you will be missed.