Goodbye, Topher

Last week was a really sad week at our house, our sweet Topher passed away on Thursday.

I mentioned that he wasn't doing well last month and he took a drastic turn for the worse last week.  Kevin took him to the vet last Monday and the vet said that Topher was old and all his systems were starting to fail him.  We didn't want to put him through tons of tests and procedures.  We brought him home and talked about our options all the while watching him decline very quickly.

We loved on him so much, tried to give him all his favorite things, said our goodbyes throughout the week and he passed away while we were all at school/work on Thursday.  Kevin took such good care of him in his final moments.  I knew it was coming but it didn't make it any easier to say our final goodbye to our sweet Topher.  I thought I was ready to type out this post a few days later, but here I am crying again.  It really is hard to say goodbye to an old friend.  We held a kitty funeral in our backyard with the kids and buried him in a special spot.

Topher was 15 and he lived a life full of adventure.

He had a front row seat to watch our family grow and move all over the country.

Topher came to us in a Target parking lot in Utah.  He was the easiest cat who loved to share a pillow with you at night.  A friend told me that orange cats are the loviest, sweetest cats and we found this to be true.  Topher quickly adapted to living in 6 different homes in 4 different states.  He always found the sunniest spots in the house and I was always his favorite person.  He loved to go for car rides as long as he was free to roam about the vehicle.  He would find the coziest spot and settle in for a nap.

He was my late night buddy.  He was always right by my side doing all my night owl things.  I think as he got older his favorite time of day was spending quiet nights with me all to himself.  He loved a fresh water bowl or a drink from any faucet.  We keep finding ourselves looking for him in his favorite spots around the house.

Topher grew friendlier with age and seemed to warm up to the kids more and more as they got older.  He welcomed 3 kids and enjoyed all the cats that we have added to the family over the years.  He'd always greet guests when they arrived at our house and once he even snuggled up in a friend's purse during book club.

Topher, unlike my own children, has been in the family long enough to have an old school scrapbook of printed pictures of his life.  I started it when he was a baby and had fun adding to it for several years.  He was so loved.

I enjoyed searching through my blog archives for the last 15 years to find some of my favorite Topher pictures.  He was always such a handsome guy who would surprise everyone he'd meet with his age.  No one ever guessed he was as old as he was.  Thankfully, he lived a long healthy life and didn't suffer.

Here are some of my favorite Topher pictures from kitten to old man.  He really did have the sweetest face and personality.  I'm thankful for all of the years we got to love him!

Kitten Topher meeting Oliver.

We were in the car a lot traveling with baby Olive and Topher was always happy to be along for the ride.

He tested out and approved every piece of baby gear that ever came into our house.

Hours and hours of feeding babies and Topher was always nearby.

He put up with me dressing him up for the holidays.

Topher appreciated my love of a pretty chair filled with pillows and blankets.

And he quickly found favorite spots in our current house.

As he got older, he claimed our primary bathroom/bedroom as his favorite spot.  He would always enjoy being up high on our counters far away from busy Leo.  We started our days together every morning with him snuggling up to my make up bag.  And politely meowing for a drink from the sink.

Every time I walk into our bathroom I expect to see this cutie in his favorite spot in between our sinks.  I miss him terribly, but I'm so thankful for all our happy years together.

We buried him in a special spot on our property and talk about him often.  I think I'll make a Christmas ornament with one of my favorite pictures of Topher and maybe add a cute orange tabby cat ornament to our Christmas tree this year in his memory.  The kids are handling the loss well.  They are all sad, but they know that Topher lived a great, long kitty life with our family.  Our other cats are kind of in a funk after losing their buddy.  Time will help heal all of our hearts.

Saying goodbye to an old friend is HARD.