George Martha Puddinhead Fluffles Friedman (1998-2012)
We lost George today after a 6 month fight with renal cancer. She fought hard to the end, and hobbled out to greet me this morning when I woke up, much as she had done nearly every morning for the past 14 years. She could barely walk, her balance was off, but she still wanted to say hi. She had eaten almost nothing for the past week, and stopped drinking water a few days ago. We knew that she didn't have long left, and this wasn't a surprise, although that didn't make it any easier.
When we first adopted George, 14 years ago, she was absolutely filthy. She had bits of leaves, twigs & dirt stuck in her long white fur. They said that she was found roaming the streets just the day before, with no identifying tags. It was always a mystery how long she was roaming the streets of Greensburg, PA, or how she ended up out there, so we didn't know what kind of trauma she experienced. We held her, and she was so scared, that she kept burying her head in my arm pit. We brought her home, and she spent much of the next week hiding under a blanket, afraid to come out at all. But over the next few weeks, she slowly warmed up to us. It still took time for her true personality to come through.
Over the next few months, she became ever more affectionate, while still a no-nonsense kind of cat. She didn't take crap from anyone. You never touched her feet or legs, without expecting her to swing a paw at you, or make a warning bite of your hand (which never broke the skin, she just wanted to make it clear, that you did not touch her there). As much as she had places that were off limits, she also had places that she loved to be touched. Gently rubbing the back of her ears, or scratching the crown of her head almost always brought her to a state of uncontrollable purring. You knew that you had hit the right spot, if you could hold your hand in front of her face, and she'd lick you energetically.
Oh, and she was a big gal too. Her weight topped out around 15lbs a few years back, and with the long fur, she used her size to intimidate the other cats as best she could. While Mona (who died in January 2009) held her own against George, and was even known to fight back, Tyger on the other hand never got along with George. It was always a constant battle between them, with George charging & chasing, and Tyger screeching & running. But George wasn't looking to cause injury, she never actually came into physical contact, it was just her way of claiming to be top cat.
She was also one very well travelled cat. She rode in the car with us, as we drove (and moved) cross country from Pennsylvania to California way back in 2001. I can't say that she enjoyed spending her days cooped up in a cat carrier, but she could rightfully claim to have seen 11 different states that year.
George loved to spend her days stretched out in a nice cozy quiet spot. Her mornings were often spent laying in the sunshine, her afternoons were typically spent snoozing deep under the table in the corner of the office, and at night she'd hop up on the papasan chair and nap. We'd always know that she was resting well if we could hear her snoring away.
Even with all that sleeping, George was a fairly sociable cat. Rare was the day when she didn't greet me outside my bedroom door as I got up, run to greet me as I returned from work in the evenings, or snuggled up beside me while watching TV at night. She'd often casually follow me about the house, mostly just curious what I was up to.
George had some odd food preferences. While the vast majority of her diet was always dry cat food, she had a strange love of peanut butter & mayonnaise. Whenever I'd be making a PB&J sandwich, she'd come running into the kitchen, get up on her hind legs, and start pawing at the cabinet, trying in vane to reach the counter top. I'd finish making my sandwich, wipe nearly all of the peanut butter off the knife, and then hold it down at face level for her to lick clean. Every time, she'd lick it spotless, and then scamper out of the kitchen with a very noticeable bounce in her step. She did much the same routine with mayo, although I didn't let her taste it all that often.
Throughout her life, she was a very affectionate cat, as long as you loved her on her own terms. She didn't want non-stop attention (and often wanted to be left alone). But if you let her come to you when she was ready, she was all too willing to cuddle up for the better part of an hour.
She will be sorely missed. It will never be the same waking up or coming home, and not having her there to greet me. I took the last batch of pictures of her just yesterday, and posted them HERE.
