Well, today is the day. After a few weeks of really struggling with some health problems Junior, the McCaman family cat, is being put down today. I guess you know it's time for him to go when he's so weak that he doesn't even hiss at the vet when he's checked out. If you know Jr. you know that is some serious weakness. I never thought I'd be writing this, but it's really sad to see him go. Jr. and I rarely saw eye to eye. I used to be rough on him and my friends were even rougher. He fought back. Even after I gave up tormenting him and wanted to make peace, I was always afraid of random sneak attacks while walking through the backyard. But he was a good cat. I think he was the toughest cat around and could beat the crap out of any other cat that would try to mess with him. He was a good buddy to my parents as well, giving my mom someone to baby and take care after her children left home. 

He's the first real pet our family had. Before Jr. our pets had consisted of a goldfish (who remarkably lived for 3 years), a caterpillar I brought home one day, two backyard turtles and a baby bird I found in the backyard (who lived for about 8 hrs.). Dad and Jen went out for a run one night and came home with a little kitten. Ironically, my mom wasn't crazy about the idea of having a cat, but I think she's changed her tune since then. 

The funny thing is, I'm not a cat lover and never thought I would write a tribute to a cat, but he is a part of the family and saying goodbye is always rough.

Here's to you, Junior, you crazy cat. May you find an abundance of raw liver and cats to beat up in the hereafter!