A man and his cat {my grandfather}

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A man and his cat. A cat that follows a man everywhere and sits at the front door until the man returns. A cat that yawls and cries when the man leaves home and heads to work.  A cat that welcomes the man home with purrs and leg rubs. My grandfather and his cat Friday, they are two of kind. They are best buddies and have been for the past 4 years since my husband and I decided to let Friday “move in” with my grandfather and grandmother.

Friday the cat, is now 15 years old. When I married my husband in 2005, I married a man with young twin toddlers and two cats. We were quite the bunch. I had no children of my own but I did have two dogs. It was a bit crazy at first but all the animals commingled fine after a few spats. When we moved in to my parents home in 2008, “we” (2 dogs who have since passed away and two cats (1 has passed away) moved in as well. Friday the cat is the lone survivor of the original pet crew. ha. During 2008, my grandparents still lived in Florida but would visit us here in Massachusetts for 3 months out of the year and they lived here, at my parents home, during those 3 months. My grandfather and our cat Friday, became best buddies and needless to say, my grandfather adored him. I would catch my grandfather talking to the cat about how he wished Friday was his and lived with him in Florida.

In 2008, my son was 2. A typical toddler boy, very active and very curious about the cat. Friday the cat, was getting older and was not so impressed with my 2 year old son. Another problem, which was a bigger problem, was my parents dog (oh yes, we had four dogs between all of us when we moved in, in 2008). My parents dog was young and wanted to play with Friday the cat, but Friday wanted no part of him. Chaos let me tell you. Fortunately, my parents house is big enough where we could keep the animals all separated but it was still not ideal.

After living in chaos for months with all the animals, sleepless nights and anxiety of how to prevent Friday the cat from hurting my toddler son and keeping Friday safe from my parents dog, we decided that Friday would be happier and better off living with my grandfather and grandmother. The problem, my grandparents still lived in Florida during this time.

I believe things happen for a reason and usually, a situation presents itself that solidifies decisions. What do I mean? Ironically after my husband and I decided that Friday would be happier with my grandparents, a girl who worked for my husband was moving to Florida. The kicker, she was driving! Imagine my grandfathers surprise when I called him and asked him if he would like Friday to move in with him. ha. I originally planned on taking a trip to see my grandparents and bring Friday with me but we decided to send Friday on a road trip with my husbands co-worker. Long story short, Friday the cat was sent to live with my grandparents in Florida and 2 years later, Friday the cat along with my grandparents moved back to Massachusetts and we all live happily under one roof again. Ha. He is the world travelling cat.

Friday sleeps with my grandfather, eats with my grandfather and watches every move my grandfather makes. Friday the cat is the most important thing to my grandfather. Oh yes, my grandmother even knows it. It makes her mad sometimes I think. ha. He has saved my grandfather’s life on three occasions. My grandfather is diabetic and has been woken by Friday during the night three different times when his sugar was below 30. If you know anything about diabetics, a sugar level of 30 is not good.

A man and is cat. Special. Memories. Happiness. This is what Friday the cat provides for my grandfather. They talk to each other, literally. Friday is old. My grandfather is old. I am not sure how much longer Friday has to live. My grandfather and I have been back and forth to the vet a couple times recently because of issues Friday is having with his kidneys and lack of appetite. My grandfather (well I should say my grandmother) makes him a full course meal and is trying everything under the sun to keep Friday here with him. It is sad to see how upset my grandfather is over his little buddy Friday. Friday is tired but still lets out a loud purr when he spends his afternoons curled up between my grandfathers legs during their afternoon naps in the recliner. A man an his cat. A beautiful story that is today, still being told.

Update since this post:

Update on Friday