Just over two years ago my wife and I took in Anakin from another family who didn’t want him. Neither of us had any experience with cats except when around other people’s cats so we did lots of research to give him the best life.
We had been pet free for a few years, we previously had a dog that we took in from another family that didn’t want the dog anymore. I’d been talking about adopting a cat but my wife was unsure as she had the impression they were aloof but after getting to know another friend’s cat she was more comfortable with the idea.
I am AuDHD and have hEDS so I have a lot health issues and partly why we chose a cat was because I wouldn’t need to take him outside and I work self employed in and out of the house while my wife works full time and I was lonely at home some.
We think Anakin was around 4 when we brought him home but he was a stray that ended up at a shelter before the previous family adopted him so our information was limited. While he was still a stray he lost all his teeth except for his 4 canines but was otherwise healthy, though looking back at his old photos he was quite chubby when we first brought him home.
He was very timid at first and would hide a lot. We didn’t force him out or anything. We would occasionally come near his hiding spot and gently talk to him and sit facing with our backs to him and let him decide to approach. It didn’t take long for him to come up to us and enjoy pets and being near us but any sort of activity, noise, or visitors would have him hiding.
Pretty soon Anakin learned that I napped every afternoon and he would come and nap with me, if I didn’t go nap at the usual time he’d come and tap me with his paws. At first just on his cat bed on the floor and then eventually he started coming up on the bed and would either lay right next to me or on the other side of the bed. I think I annoyed him when I fell asleep, I shift around a lot when asleep, because we eventually settled a routine where he’d come and lay next to me when I first got in bed to relax for a bit and then when I’d pull the covers up and try to sleep he’d usually move to the other side corner of the bed. At night he started sleeping on our bed at my wife’s feet.
We never got him to be very playful. We tried all sorts of toys but he pretty much ignored all of them. We got a cat nip banana toy that he’d nibble on and groom for about 3 minutes and that was the most he ever did. He really liked to be around us though. Whenever we watched tv he’d come and lay next to us. If my wife came home while I was napping he’d go lay with her and watch tv and then as soon as he heard me start waking up he’d come back and harass me or wait at the bedroom door if it happened to be closed.
For months we could tell he wanted to lay on our lap on the couch. He would come and put his front paws on our leg and make biscuits and pur. We‘d gesture and vocally invite him up but then he’d turn around and lay down next to us. A couple times we tried to place him on our lap but he’d get off and lay next to us. I don’t remember how long that went on for but it was quite a while, several months at least I think. Then one day he laid down on my wife’s lap and from then on he’d come lay on us.
My wife and I are both pc gamers and he started jumping up on our desks and walking back and forth in front of us for attention. We bought new matching desks that had a small elevated shelf thinking he’d like to lay under the shelf so we set the desks up with the shelf on each one touching and put a blanket under it and he started laying up between us on our desks. When he wanted attention he started doing the cutest thing, he’d be curled up by us on the blanket and then he’d slowly lift his head up and lean all the way back so his head was upside down and he’d just stare at us. If we made eye contact he’d get up and come stand or lay down right in front of us. If we ignored him he’d curl back up after a minute and then he’d wait a few minutes and repeat. He’d wait less and less time between doing this if we didn’t acknowledge him and eventually he would just get up and stand in front of us.
Over this past year he started having health issues. We had lots of testing done, nothing was conclusive for a while and none of what we were recommended helped him improve. It was a lot of work and it was hard to see him sick. His pancreas wasn’t producing enzymes and we had recently started a powder for it. It seemed like he was maybe improving.
Sunday night I went to bed around midnight and he was sleeping peacefully on the couch. He died some time during the night. One of his hiding spots was under the couch and my wife found him on the floor near the spot he usually used to get under the couch.
I‘ve loved all my pets over the years but I really adored Anakin. At some point my wife and I started calling him my little buddy because he seemed to have a really close bond with me. He had some really goofy facial expressions with his missing teeth.
To my little buddy Anakin, you were so gentle and sweet, and I already miss you so much.
