Rudi, my loving friend and companion died on Thursday, September 18. He was 18-1/2 years old, which was amazing, as he was a somewhat sickly cat his whole life. We adopted Rudi when he was about six months old. He apparently was born without canine teeth - a huge disadventage to any animal. When he was about four, he began having seizures, and for a long time we didn't know what it was, until a vetinary specialist in Largo, Dr. Oswald, diagnosed him with epilepsy. He began a regimen of phenobarbitol,to control the seizures, which he took for the rest of his life. At about ten years of age he fell, while outside, and shattered his "knee," we rushed him, again, to Largo, where a surgeon put his knee back together. He walked with a limp after that, but he did walk, and run, I might add. No more outdoors for Rudi, but when we moved to Brandon, we had a screened-in pool and patio put in, and Rudi loved to be out there.
Rudi had deep blue soulful eyes, and when he stared at you, it went straight to your heart. He was a fanciful cat, imagining himself a lion or tiger, but best of all, Rudi was a pacifist. He never killed anything, even a lizard. He wanted to befriend all animals. When he spied another being he would fall on his side, and try to play with it.
Rudi's death, naturally, leaves a deep cavity in my heart. We'll eventually get another cat, but Rudi, a link to my past and my youth, will rest eternally in my soul.
