I can’t exactly remember when I first met Bruce. It may’ve been around 8 years ago. I remember seeing the neighbour’s bold, black and white cat sitting on our back fence meowing…..so much meowing. Bruce was a big talker. He meowed at everything. He would meow when walking past a pretty flower and meow when he was getting comfortable on a cushion. He liked to tell you exactly what he thought….constantly.
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Over time, Bruce slowly moved in. He just wouldn’t leave. He was a constant fixture sleeping on his lounge chair, rolling around in the grass or dozing under the lemon tree in the backyard each and everyday. He would follow us everywhere, meowing all the time. He was a dog trapped in cat’s clothing our Bruce. Bruce had two families, ours and the family three doors up. He lived his days between both families. He was a clever boy, he would eat his dinner here and then run up to his other home to grab dinner there as well.
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He shared our backyard with my sister’s cat, Chicken. Chicken barely tolerated him and for years Chicken put up with him getting in her face and getting too close to her liking (Chick liked her space). There was often alot of hissing and spitting going on between them, but sometimes we’d find them sitting very close to each other on the deck. Chicken passed away in April this year (2012) and, strangely, we said goodbye to Bruce just a week later. After we lost Chicken, we noticed Bruce had become rather withdrawn and not his usual, chatty self. We put this down to grief, but he began to get worse quite rapidly. He had Kidney failure and there was nothing that could be done. He was only nine years old.
Two families grieved Bruce. I miss him dearly. Life isn’t the same without that black and white, love of life cat. We have a stone engraved with his name on it and it sits under the lemon tree. Sometimes, for a split second, I think he’s still sitting under it.
Miss you Bruce – i …..with all my heart.
Please don’t use my images without permission. All images are Copyright Tamara Kenneally.