Amigo was a good cat. He simply never did anything bad or mischievous. My dad used to call him a gentleman cat.

As a kitten, he belonged to a costumer I worked with at the Playhouse we worked at in a state park. I was just the snack bar person at that time there and had afternoons and mornings alternately off. Amigo would come and take naps with me. He was a darling. Sweet even then. Never a hoolikitten. When my friend got a job in another state and couldn't take him with, he asked me to take him. I, of course, said yes. I spent more time with Amigo than he had really.

He was never any trouble. When I went back to college, my new roommate brought her Siamese, Max. In 3 days, Amigo and Max were best buds. You couldn't drive a sheet of paper between them. We used to come home from class and instead of TV we'd watch the cats play.

Amigo loved Kaboo when he was young. Kaboo consisted of me running and hiding and when Amigo found me, I'd shout "Ka Boo!" and he would run and I would chase him. He used to play "guess the room" too. He would run past me when I walked down the hall and try to figure out what room I was going to. If he picked wrong, he'd run as fast as he could to get into whatever room I was in.

He had these wonderful "cartoon" eyes. When he was playful, his eyes got perfectly round, like a cartoon cat.

After college, I moved home with him and Odie and NErmal. Amigo never liked Odie or Nermal much. He wasn't ever mean or hissy though. He just ignored them. At home with my parents and myself, he adjusted well, and when I left for Lincoln, I expected to bring him out with me eventually, but it didn't seem right. THey had all adjusted to my folks house and my mom really liked him. I did not bring them. I felt bad, but I knew it was the right thing to do. My dad had died and mom was mostly alone except for the cats. She liked to kiss the "M" on his forhead and tell him the story of how the Virgin Mary gave the tabby this mark.

When I would come and visit, I could tell he really bonded to my mom. She didn't even realize it, but he always sat near her, with one paw out on her somewhere. Usually behind her on the couch back.

Lately, he just wanted her to pet him *all* the time. If she stopped, he would paw at her hand. Mom wrote me a bit ago and said:

"I never thought it would be this bad to lose him. He was such a very good companion to me these last years. I thank God I had such a sweet little animal for awhile anyway. "

You couldn't ask for a better eulogy than that.

He was simply a good cat.

In Loving Memory of Amigo
1988 - 2003

Copyright © Karen Chuplis
April 13, 2003