Goodbye Ambush

I got the news yesterday that the last of my childhood family pets was going to be put to sleep.  This was something my parents saw coming and they weren't sure he would make it through the summer. He still had a good quality of life up until the last few days, and for a cat that it is 17 years old that is pretty remarkable. I thought I would just jot done some of my many favorite memories about Bush (pronounced Boosch). Bush was the first and only pet that was actually my own. Even though he gave his affection to anyone and everyone, I always felt that he and I had a special connection. The world is a little less bright today knowing he is gone. 

When we first went to pick up he and Stormy, it was a bright summer day and we were excited to get them. The woman giving away the cats had about 5-6 kittens and so my mom let Aramie and I pick. All of the kittens, but one, were in the house and Aramie picked the cutest female gray tabby. The woman said that Radio (as they called him, due to the pointy bits of hair sticking out of the end of his ears) was out back up in a tree. While I knew the name would have to change, I also knew that sounded like my kind of cat.  I quickly went outside and climbed up the tree to where he was. Bush looked a bit stuck and was just at the edge my reach. I was able to coax him in a little and then snatch him and hand him down to the lady whose house it was. I was so excited and couldn't wait to get him home. 

From then on, Bush and Stormy were inseperable and were both extremely loving cats. Stormy was always gentle and would just come lay with you and never asked for more than she was given. Bush was the best combination of sweetness and stupidity. Very often you would hear a crash somewhere in the house and then have him run by you, either completely soaked or covered in a fine layer of dust or food. You would then find the source of the mess as some upended plant or some knocked over school project. 

Bush also took great joy in lying on your reading material. My dad would often sit on the floor and read the newspaper. We have a particularly great photo of him reading the paper one day with both cats lying contently on his back. Bush just wanted to be wherever his people were and wanted to let them know he was around.  Sometimes he would lie down on the newspaper (or on puzzles) because he loved the way it felt on his belly. 

He was always gentle and always loving. One of his favorite ways to show affection was to bump heads with you as you lie in your bed. And he had a hard head. Of all his behaviors, this is the one I will remember the longest and most fondly. It was just so cute and he always looked so happy after butting heads. He also had effective ways to wake you up if he wanted to. He would drive his nose between your neck and the pillow and lift, instantly waking you and then he would give a big smile and start purring like "Oh, you're up! What a coincidence, I am ready for attention!" He would also do this funny thing where he would open his mouth just a tiny bit and then push it against the back of your head. This also would wake you up with a start. 

He always decided to lay in strange places that didn't seem terribly comfortable. One of the strangest and cutest was on the back of my computer chair...when I was in it. It meant that he was actually lying across my shoulders but just happened to have the back of the chair there so he wouldn't fall. I would be working on papers, playing video games, or searching the internet; he would come and find me and take a nap. One thing about Bush lying on you is that he generated an ungodly amount of heat. He was like a walking heating pad. After lying on you for 10 minutes or so you had to make him change positions because he would get so hot. Also, as he got chubbier he got a lot heavier. When he would jump on the bed and start walking up, yowling the whole way, as soon as he stepped on you, you knew it. He had broad paws, but they still couldn't spread out the weight enough not to hurt. There were many times I thought he ruptured my spleen or broke a testicle after one carelessly placed step on his part. There were also many nights where I would wake up and see him standing on Heather's back. Heather would be kind of whining and trying to move, while still sound asleep, and Bush would be looking at me like "Is she going to stop soon?" 

While Bush could often just settle down and sleep sometimes, it was difficult to get him to settle. Once that would happen he would display some of his more annoying behaviors including whipping his tail and yowling. If you disturbed the position in which he was laying, he would began slapping his tail against the offending party in an irregular but consistent pattern. I would then try to hold the tail in my hand or tuck it under his body; both of which would cause to him to pull on his tail until it was free, either because I had fallen back asleep or because he won the tug-of-war. The yowling would come whenever he felt he had been slighted or was just generally confused. Heather and I have many shared memories of him loudly coming down the stairs into the basement and upon reach his destination going "Rawour! RAWOUR!" until he was acknowledged. Sometimes his behavior was bad enough or we needed sleep enough that we would push him off the end of the bed. At first he went fine. Then he began learning tricks to avoid this scenario. My personal favorite was a combination of Judo and pure speed. As I would start pushing him off the bed, Bush would shift his weight and dart up to the head of the bed and begin yowlying pitifully as if saying "It wasn't me! Just let me stay!"

Bush was the kind of cat that made people who hated cats to at least like him. There definitely was something doglike about his straightforward manner and often doofy personality. He liked weird things like having his hips slapped. He would hold on tight to the legs of the slapper and then would look up and cry when they would stop. It was by far his favorite type of attention. People always found it so hilarious because it seemed like such a strange behavior. Bush never withheld attention as other cats do, I don't think the thought ever even crossed his mind. He always gave all that he could and asked for as much attention as you could give him. 

Bush, you will be greatly missed. I can't imagine ever having another cat so smart at being so dumb and so easily lovable. We had you 17 years, since I was 9, and even that wasn't enough... Goodbye.