Gryffin

This was our third cat Gryffin. We came by him very accidentally. We had decided in the early spring that it was time for another cat in our house so we were looking at the various websites and shelters around the city. We went to the Scarborough Animal Shelter on May 27th and found a nice female kitten that seemed shy but could be affectionate. We decided that we would take her the next day.

We came back that Saturday, the 28th of May, intending on picking up this new kitten. Instead when we entered the shelter we found this adorable little tricolour (white/black/grey) kitten in a separate cage. I picked him up and he was most affectionate. Purring and licking and nuzzling. We instantly fell in love with him. We had seen Madagascar the night before and he looked almost identical to one of the lemurs. He was so cute that we had to have him. Someone said that there was someone else interested in that cat so we hurriedly filled out the required forms and waited in line to process them. Fortunately for us the person who wanted him wasn’t there and they called while we were finalizing our purchase. He was ours!

On the way home he just laid on Marcy’s lap in the car. The other cats had been similar; Pumpkin had slept on Marcy’s lap while she drove back to Kitchener from London when we got her. He seemed very content. Of course we were a bit apprehensive about how he would get along with Pumpkin and Elle but I think we were better prepared this time having gone through the process of introducing a new cat into the house before with Pumpkin. We stopped at Canadian Tire to pick up some supplies: a litter box, kitten food and some toys. He was happy to stay in the car and slept while we were gone.

We arrived home and the cats hissed (expectedly) when they saw the new cat. We took him into our bedroom and let him run around there for a while. Elle seemed more receptive than Pumpkin to Gryffin. In fact Gryffin wasn’t even his first name. We originally liked the name Bran (pronounced like brawn) but decided to change it to Gryffin (an easier name to pronounce properly). That night we took Gryffin out to the living room and he was very happy to pounce around and play with his mouse. The other cats kept their distance.

Over the next few days we grew accustomed to having a third cat in the house. Elle and Pumpkin slowly accepted the fact that he wasn’t leaving. Gryffin became more bold around the other cats and liked to pick on Pumpkin. It was hard to tell if she was annoyed or just having fun because she would hiss a lot but at the same time she’d wag her tail provocatively wanting him to attack her again.

We did have some issues with Gryffin’s bladder. Early morning and late at night he had a bad habit of peeing where he shouldn’t but after the first couple of weeks that problem seemed to disappear.

He was the only cat that liked to lounge on our furniture in the living room. One of his favourite places was to sleep on top of the couch while we were watching tv. He loved to be held and have his belly rubbed. Sometimes he’d fart when you picked him up and he’d have this cute grin after that happened. He was very affectionate and would frequently wake us up in the middle of the night to get rubbed or lick our faces. He’d purr (the loveliest purr) if you’d even look at him. He was our baby and we loved him.

One of his favourite times of the day was breakfast time. I always gave him his food first because he had a tendency to eat the other cats’ food as well. It didn’t seem to really matter however because after I put his food down he’d wolf down some of it and then as soon as I put down the other cats’ food he’d start snacking on that. From the time we got him to last Friday he had gained 1 kg. He was still very sleek and slim however.

He had this really great sidewinder hop that he would do if he wanted to play with you and he also used it on Pumpkin and Elle when he was trying to appear bigger than he was. He liked to chase his identical twin in the tv stand glass. He was terribly happy lying on the computer desk when we were using the computer. He loved his mice (he ripped them apart to create mini-mice) and he had an affinity for playing with Marcy’s shoes. He loved the onion bag so much that last Monday he managed to get one out and he chased it all over the house. It was a very funny sight.

He absolutely adored both of us and I think he really loved the other cats too. He was one of the most affectionate, loving animals I’d ever known.

Gryffin died on Monday during the time when Marcy was at school and I was at work. We’re not entirely sure what happened but we believe that Elle and Gryffin were playing on the cat climber and it was tipping over and Gryffin tried to run but lost his balance and hit the tile floor headfirst. He died almost instantly. Marcy found him in our entryway and 20 long minutes later I was home thanks to Ky. I don’t remember what Ky talked about on the way home. My legs were extremely weak when I was climbing the stairs. That afternoon was extremely difficult as the reality of what had happened sunk in. We both took it very hard and cried a lot. I went to Canadian Tire and got a nice bamboo box to put him to rest. Since we didn’t have any land to bury him we had to take him to the veterinarian’s office for cremation. We lifted his poor crushed body into the box and wrapped him with some pillowcases. We placed an onion and his mouse in there to keep him company because he loved them so much. We told him that we were so sorry this had happened to him and that we loved him very much. When he went to the vet’s office last Friday Marcy found that he really liked listening to JazzFM. Who knew a cat liked jazz? In his honour we played that station while we drove. We listened to one last song before we brought him in. We then went to the vet’s office and said goodbye to our little boy. It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do.

The rest of the evening was spent split between distraction and reminiscing about him and how much we missed him. We kept thinking that he would pop out and hop onto our laps or that we could hear his little squeaks. It didn’t seem fair that he had to die in this way at such a young age. We’d barely become acquainted and we were looking forward to having these three cats with us when we started a family.

We both took yesterday off to cope. We cleaned the house in the morning and every room reminded us of him. He absolutely loved the spare bedroom and when I was vacuuming I’d keep finding things of his: cough drops that he loved to chase, parts of his mouse, etc. It was very hard to keep going. We found the papers we filled out when we bought him in May and his vaccination record. The vet has a picture of your pet on the receipt so we would see a picture of Gryffin on each of these papers. I clipped one out and put it on the fridge. That is one thing that I feel very guilty about: I didn’t take nearly enough pictures of him. Maybe it’s the “third child” syndrome where the first two kids (pets in our case) have a lot of pictures taken and then not as many for the youngest. The few that we have of him though we’ll treasure because it’s how he lived that we will keep with us and not how he died.

Today is a little better but we’re still pretty hurt and lonely. Not as raw as Monday and not as numb as yesterday but still sad. The house is so quiet without him scampering around. Elle and Pumpkin seem to miss him too; Pumpkin kept sniffing for him on Monday and yesterday. Monday afternoon Elle was scratching on the computer chair and Pumpkin thought it was Gryffin and raced over. I’m not sure if they really understand that he’s not coming back but I do know that they’ve been awfully affectionate. Even though it was an accident how Gryffin died we’re still concerned leaving the other two alone while we’re away.

We were very lucky to have found Gryffin. He was a really special cat and he would have grown into a wonderful adult. For 52 days he lived with us and nobody can take that time away. I’d give anything to be able to hold him again and hear his motorboat purr, to see his grin and to feel him in my arms. I really did love him and his loss has hit us quite profoundly. I think we will be getting another kitten once we return from our vacation (middle of August) and even if we do get another kitten it won’t replace Gryffin. We wouldn’t want to but going from three cats to two has been so much harder than going from two to three. We need a third cat and I think Elle and Pumpkin do too. We will get through this though. We have to get on with our life.

Goodbye Gryffin. You were an amazing kitten and we loved you tremendously. We will never forget your face or your touch or your personality. We’ll miss you always.

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