Anniversary for Socks the Cat

Today, August 7th, 2011, marks the 1 year anniversary since we lost our beloved cat Socks.  In his memory, I am posting his obit (which I don’t think I did last year) so that you can see what a special little guy he was:

“Socks” – A Barnyard Cat Who Came Into Our Hearts Forever

Socks was born in 1998 or 1999 and crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on August 7, 2010. He was 11-12 years old, as best we can figure. Socks has been with us since May 2003. Socks was a beautiful, energetic, and attention getting male Maine Coon cat; tabby & white with 4 white paws, hence the name “Socks”. We refer to him as the “Ultimate Fluffball”. His siblings/friends are Penelope (15 year old Maine Coon) and Yoda (black cat about same age as Socks, who came with him from Missouri via way of Texas).

Socks has lived in Missouri, Texas, South Florida, Central Florida, Louisiana, then back to North Florida. Socks was the barn yard cat of a friend of ours uncle in Missouri. When our friend adopted Socks, he moved to Texas, then to Florida. Our friend lived with us for several months while he was getting situated with a job and place to live in Florida. He brought Socks & Yoda along, and of course we fell in love with them both immediately.  We had recently lost Gracie, the half-sister of Penelope to cancer, so Socks

and Yoda helped to fill the emptiness in our hearts. When our friend moved to a small condo and accepted a job that entailed a lot of travel, he asked us to “baby sit” Socks & Yoda. After 2 years, he said the cats were officially ours and of course, we agreed!

We moved to Louisiana temporarily for a few months in 2009, and of course, all our kitties came with us. Then it was back to Florida.

Socks liked to ride in the car and check out everyone in the cars that passed by. He also liked to look at the birds and the sky as it passed by in an ever changing view for him.

We used to live at a private airport community and Socks loved to go for a ride in the kitty stroller on the taxiways to watch the dogs, cats, birds, people, and planes. He also liked to ride in the golf cart and the electric Think car. His favorite place was on the dashboard

with a big fluffy towel as padding. That way he got the full panoramic view, and we would sit next to the runway and watch the planes take off and land. He seemed to wonder how the planes could do that. He enjoyed smiling at the other people and dogs & cats in the other golf carts.

 

Socks has eaten a diet of Hill’s Science Diet since we had him, a mixture of Hairball Control, Oral Care, Sensitive Skin, and Sensitive Stomach. At the end of his time on earth, he had moved “upscale” and liked grilled tilapia and salmon.

Socks’ favorite napping place was a white sheepskin rug in the living room in the evening when we watched TV. That way he could nap, but yet keep his little eyes cracked open to be sure he didn’t miss anything. He prepared his sleeping spot by

“kneading biscuits” to get his spot in the center “just right”.

Socks loved to help us in the office. We are self employed and work from home. We each have office space in our home, and Socks takes turns with each of us sitting at the computer, on the desk, or in a chair nearby, although he seems to favor Bob’s desk as he has more monitors and keyboards to be intrigued by and lay up against. He does like to go out on the screen porch or patio, but he seems to find as his primary responsibility to help in the office instead.

We used to live in a home with a separate 2 story hangar building on the property where we had our offices. In the morning we would say “time to go to work” and he would bolt out the patio door, hop across the patio, and wait for us to open the office door. He would always beat us there. No lizard or squirrel could side track him from his self appointed

duties. He would catapult up the stairs, stop at the landing midway, look to see if you were giving him an audience, then catapult himself up the remaining set of stairs. When we were done for the day, we would just say “Socks, time to close the office” and he would get down from where ever he was perched and hop down the stairs, hippity-hop across the patio and into the house ready for dinner. For some reason, maybe because of his size, he would hop like a bunny rather than run like a cheetah. I think we will remember him most for that.

When he sat on Agnes’ desk, there was a different configuration. So he would sit along side her atop the desk and rest his paw on her arm, as if he was guiding her typing on the keyboard.

 

His favorite toy is the Cosmic Country Catnip pouch. He loved to lay on top of the Cosmic Catnip when he was “off duty” and not at work.

Out of all the cats we have had over the years, Socks had the most vibrant personality of them all, almost human-like. Where our other cats chose to sleep most of the day, Socks would be awake, following us around and helping in the office. At lunch or dinner he would quietly sit in the chair between us waiting for his opportunity to go back to work or watch TV. He liked to watch the Nascar and Indy race cars, not just watch but he got involved with the race.

Another quirk Socks had was he liked to see his reflection. He knew he was special. We had a stove with a black glass oven front that he would sit at for long periods looking at his handsome reflection. And chasing sunbeams was another pleasure of his. We had sheer curtains that would flutter with the breeze and would make the sunbeams dance

on the floor. He tried his best to catch them, and when he thought he had one, he would lay down, proud of his capture.

Another place he liked to help was in the bathroom, whether you were taking a shower or taking care of your private business. It simply did not matter what you were doing, he would be there to supervise.

We love him and will miss him dearly. Even though he did not make a lot of noise meowing and such, he had a huge presence with a dynamic and magnetic personality. His absence has left a huge void and a silence in the house that only his warmth and charm could fill.

He is at peace now, no longer in pain, and no longer having to take his medications which he was not happy about. He is at peace in Kitty Heaven, and getting to know his

“sister” Gracie.

We love him so much and will miss him forever.