The sky fell....(by Mom)

The sky fell for the Fluff yesterday early evening. The Fluff, a cat I considered a "gentle giant" because he was so much bigger than most cats I have had, passed away yesterday early evening. He was thirteen years old but still seemed like he would last at least another 10 years when I last saw him, a reminder that we all have a limited time and we don't know when that time will come so we must live each day with that kind of caring. With that in mind I must share some of the wonder of this cat's personality, spirit of adventure and friendliness. Fluff was a friendly cat to other cats and humans as well. When he was visiting one year for three months he tried very hard to make friends with the cats in my abode. However, they would have none of it. Yet he still kept calm and kept trying. He never gave up on that task and did not seem to understand why the much smaller cat Tigger was so afraid of him. So he would try to follow the Tigger around with the Tigger trying to find a place to hide. It was pretty comical at the time watching the "hide and seek" game that they ended up playing and Fluff all the while staying calm and friendly.
Then there was my visit when Patty first arrived. He already was over 10 years old at the time by he acted like an old Great Uncle with her. He finally had a playmate that wasn't afraid of him. In fact, she relished in hiding and then pouncing on him as he went by. He took it all in stride and I am sure that he was finally glad to have the companionship that he so much desired from other cats.
My favorite memory of the Fluff will be the Christmas he stayed with us. One evening as I was enjoying having only the lights on the tree lit and nothing else lit in the house I was sitting and simply enjoying and nearly asleep in my chair near the tree. I suddenly came to attention when I spotted a glowing white spot in the middle of the tree and it was moving upwards. Much to my dismay and surprise it was the Fluff climbing up through the middle of the Christmas tree, heading for the top of our 10 foot tree. The tree was decorated in primarily glass ornaments and I didn't want to have the Fluff hurt or the tree damaged so I had a dilemma. How do I get a cat out of the middle of a fully decorated Christmas tree! I certainly can't shout or yell because that would frighten him and he could have simply jumped out of the tree quickly and destroyed himself and the tree all at the same time. I couldn't just reach into the middle of the tree because that would have had the same effect. Instead I decided to try my stern quiet "teacher voice" and told him to "climb down out of that tree." I had no idea if he would listen or not but he stopped climbing higher, looked at me and realized, I suppose, that part of the fun of this adventure was doing it without getting caught and he had gotten "caught"! So, with the fun and adventure gone out of it he simply stopped climbing higher and backed down out of the tree much to my relief. He got a lot of loving attention right after and from that time on I realized how tuned to my voice he had become. He even seemed to later appreciate hearing my voice over the phone.
So a tribute to a wonderful friendly and adventurous cat. He will remain forever in my mind as a "gentle giant" reminding me that you don't have to react negatively to others who don't always understand your friendly ways. You have a choice on how you react to others. Friendliness and cooperation are worth the effort for the peace it brings you even if others don't "get it". Fluff you were very much loved and you will be missed.
Love,
Mom