Sweet Raymond (right),
with his much larger brother.

Just half a dozen years ago we got a precious gift,
A little cat named Raymond... our lives he would uplift.
I held this tiny kitten and I touched his nose to mine,
I prayed for God to help him, so his little light could shine.

He was the tiniest of three kittens born to Doodlebug. Raymond was half the size of his siblings, but filled with determination.

That wondrous day arrived when kittens open their sparkling curious eyes. Little Raymond's right eye was sightless, and his left eye covered with cataracts. We knew that if he could see at all, it would be only light and shadow. The vet said that Raymond wouldn't live very long, probably less than a year. He was frail of body, but not of spirit. We decided that we would just love him dearly, and enjoy him for as long as God entrusted him to our care.

Raymond got away with murder! Our other cats might swipe or hiss at each other for petty or imagined grievances, but they all treated Raymond as if he could do no wrong. When his path led Raymond to climb right over our "big bad Dobermans", who occasionally like to mumble growls at our other cats, they just took it in stride. He would climb on their faces, steal their food... nobody minded. When we saw how he was ALWAYS treated gently by our other pets, no matter how obnoxious he was being, we would turn to each other, laugh and exclaim, "Everybody loves Raymond!".

In the summer of 1996 the television season began to promote their new shows. We had known for almost a year that "Everybody loves Raymond", and now they were even proclaiming it on T.V.!

Raymond surprised us all with his tenacity. He could see just a bit out of his left eye and soon he would race around the house tilting his little head so he could gauge his whereabouts.

Then one memorable day my husband Bob excitedly called out, “Come into the kitchen! Raymond's on top of the refrigerator!” From that day on there was no stopping him. He had conquered the world!

He never failed to meet me at the wood slat doors to my laundry, and proudly climbed up the door to perch on top of it and keep me company.

He salvaged deli cups from the trash and pranced in rapid circles around the living room with them in his mouth, the container covering his head. We would hold our sides laughing, and he got great satisfaction from being our little clown. Then he would drop the cup at our feet, and I could swear he took a little bow!

At night he would curl in the crook of my arm, but would never settle down until I leaned over to touch his little uplifted nose to mine. That was Raymond's kiss.

Raymond has been a true source of inspiration. When my husband was in pain, Raymond would glide up onto his chair to comfort him, or do tricks to make him laugh. When I was injured and thought I just couldn't go on in physical therapy, Bob would say, "You can do anything you decide to do Babe... just look at Raymond!"

The stubborn determination of that tiny little cat reminded us always that if you really put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. Like Raymond, you too can jump to the top of the refrigerator!

Raymond defied predictions, and lived to almost reach his sixth birthday. He was never thwarted by his many physical problems, but continuously brought us joy, hope, laughter... and love.

Just half a dozen years ago we got a precious gift,
A little cat named Raymond... our spirits he did lift.
His nose touched mine, for one last time, as if to say good-bye.
I held him in my arms tonight, and watched my Raymond die.

Everybody loved Raymond!

Copyright © Terece Lewis
October 21, 2001