RIP Lizzy 1991-2007

On Wednesday 11/21/2007 my cat Lizzy passed away, she was 16 1/2 years old. 😦

Lizzy a.k.a., Lizzie, Dizzy Miss Lizzy, Lizzie Borden, Lizzie the Pooh, Liz, Psycho Kitty, etc., a black, gray and tan domestic short hair tiger was born mid-April 1991 somewhere in eastern Massachusetts. I first got to know Liz in 1993 when her owner shared a large apartment with me in Upton. When Liz’s owner was moving out in 94 we decided that Lizzy would stay in the big place that she had grown to love.

She was the nastiest cat I’ve ever cared for but, like all cats, she had her good moments too. It was never safe to let children near Liz and adults needed to use caution when approaching her lest she get her claws into them. One of her specialties was ambushing unsuspecting humans from on top of a tall hutch in the dining area. She could hide herself completely and quickly take a swipe at your head when you passed underneath. I don’t recall her ever actually hurting anyone from up there but it certainly made you jump. As Liz aged she couldn’t get up high anymore so she would hide under tables for her ambushes. One of her favorite schemes was to hide behind a coat hanging from a chair at the dining table and grab my leg when I got close enough.

Her teeth and claws where put to good use in the late 90’s when mice invaded our apartment. Unfortunately Liz all too quickly learned how to make sure her new toys didn’t die so, I had to use mouse traps to end the invasion. Over the years I got better at judging when to leave her alone which greatly reduced my hydrogen peroxide consumption used for cleaning bites and scratches. Like most of her kind she made an art of napping and she could be very affectionate. On the occasions when I was away for a week or more she would literally cling to me for hours when I returned. Lizzie’s daily moments of affection for me and her weight gain with age earned her the “chubby little cubby” nickname of, Lizzie the Pooh.

In December 2005 Liz and I moved from Upton to a new place in Douglas. The old place was right on a highway so she had never been able to go outside. The new place is on a back road making it safe to go exploring outdoors during daylight hours when the fishers and coyotes aren’t around. She really enjoyed her new freedom spending time outdoors these last months of her life.

More pictures of Lizzy are in the photo pages of my website. Liz was buried on Thanksgiving afternoon in the back yard where she liked to explore.

Searching around the net I found a good short piece by Andrei Codrescu about the death of a 19 year old cat, Requiem for a Cat. Of course, the geek in me has to post the Ode to Spot composed by Data:

Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature,
An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature;
Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses
Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.

I find myself intrigued by your sub-vocal oscillations,
A singular development of cat communications
That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.

A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents,
You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion
It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.

Oh Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display
Connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array;
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.

Farewell Liz, Rest In Peace.