Having Suki & Pickles here has reminded me of things about Shmogg that I didn't realise I had missed in his last months.

The Herd of Thundering Wildebeests Stampeding Across the Plains of the Serengeti at 4am. The preparation of food with a begging cat (or two) winding around my feet. Being woken up by the plaintive meows of a creature clearly *starving*. Random crashes during the middle of the night. Waking up to the results of the random crashes in the middle of the night. Going to sleep with the sound of Purr. Being accompanied to the toilet and bathroom. The laughter from watching stupid catly antics. The "I meant to do that" wash *after* the stupid catly antics. Nose touches, chin scritches, Mrrps of greetings in the morning and every time I come home. The simple joy of being owned.

This is what cats do.

But these cats are not Shmogg, and have shown me that Shmogg was not only a unique creature, but he was a force to be reckoned with, he was a giant amongst cats, he was Bastard Cat supremo. Shmogg lived his life *entirely* on his own terms. These two cats are tame and placcid creatures, Shmogg I don't think was so much *tamed* as saw a good thing and took advantage of it. He had such personality, such a presence. This was Shmogg's house, he just graciously allowed us to live here because it suited him. He liked to be loved, but would only ever be loved when *he* wanted to be. He kept me firmly in my place by pulling all sorts of bastard cat tricks (I don't think these two are capable, quite frankly) had a keen intelligence and an absolutely *wicked* sense of humour. He only ever had one human - me - and just tolerated the others as they came with me. These two creatures are "pusses", Shmogg was a *cat*, a *bastard cat* at that.

I can't quite explain it, but Shmogg had a force, an aura, he had a presence that was huge, charisma that was off scale and a personality that would smack you fair across the face (literally, if you weren't careful.)

You'd need a whole herd of cats to fill the space that was left by Shmogg.

That's not to say I don't love these two pusses, I do, and they continue to grow on me every day as their inherent catness continues to emerge after being 'babied' for their first year. But whilst I have two felines in my life again, and the natural order of things (being owned by a Superior Species) has been restored; they also remind me that Shmogg was a Cat among cats. The tears have dried up, but no matter how many other cats I will have in my life, I think I will miss Shmogg and his Chutzpah every day of my life.

Still, if I am to honour him, I am not to mourn, but to appreciate and indeed love other members of his species. This is my promise to him, and I trust that I'll be able to serve Felinity in one way or another for the rest of my days. It's such a little thing to do in return for the mighty blessings I was given through Shmogg, but I am honoured and humbled to have been chosen by Bast to be his human, and its the least I can do to return some of those blessings back to the Mothership.

Thank you Shmogg, thank you Bast, thank you Mothership, it was - and is - truly a pleasure to be in your service.

Copyright © Vicky Chapman
December 27, 2007