Jim says we got Peter in November of 2006 between the 3rd and the 17th. He knows this because Jim was away at an army training and I brought Peter home while he was away. What I recall was having a student, Mallery Olsen, who showed me his photo on her phone (it was a small flip phone). He was about 2 years old at the time and his family had taken him in to the vet to be put down but the vet decided to hold onto him for observation. The vet, my student's mother, asked if we could take him home for observation to assess if his peeing issues continued. So I volunteered to bring him home for the two weeks while Jim was away to find out if he would use a sand box like our other cats. While he did use the sandbox most of the time, he often peed on wet towels or dirty clothes left on the floor. I thought it was a perfect way to teach the girls to pick up after themselves! We all fell in love with him, including Jim who loved to give him a spoonful of yogurt or small bowl of crème. Peter always missed Jim and would get so excited to see him return from his many trips away through the years. (I'm not sure any other cat we had missed Jim when he went away).
Peter became well known around our neighborhood by different cat names and although often wondered away from our home he always came back. He had been declawed by his previous family so was not supposed to go outside but he was happiest running across the lawn and preferred peeing on the grass. I always found it amazing that even though we lived close to a busy street and often saw foxes or coyotes around, Pete always made it home. He was taken to the animal shelter once by a neighbor but we were informed and picked him up as quick as we could. While he hunkered down indoors in the winter, I felt it too cruel to keep him cooped up inside when the weather was nice out. Eventually he became quite beloved by a neighbor who kept a bed for him in their garage.
Last winter, I noticed his health declining. He'd completely lost his hearing and often would catch colds. At 17 or 18 years old, he'd lived a full and long life for a cat. Our neighbor contacted Erika to ask about putting him down. A very special service was planned for Pete that Erika attended. He was put down on a favorite bench our neighbor used to sit with him on. Here's what Erika texted to us, "Here are the last photos of Peter. He passed away peacefully at almost exactly 3:30pm. When the vet arrived he started trying to walk away, we thought maybe he knew what was coming but then he casually peed outside on the grass a few feet away from us and turned back and walked up to his spot on their bench. We decided to do it there instead of under the tree. The vet was very kind and professional. He was surrounded by love. Michelle, her husband and father in law were there as well as another neighbor named Ali. He will be missed by many."
