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Snickers and Smudge

The Cats, Not The Candy Bar or Paint Smear

By Kim.D.Published 2 years ago 6 min read
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Smudge and Snickers

Way back in the early 2000's my parents were gifted a cat (I believe as a wedding gift, but I am not certain. I just remember him being gifted around the time they were married.) I believe it was the year 2009, about the time they were married that he was gifted. He was a sweet and loving cat who soon became the family cat rather than being shared between my parents. One by one as we were introduced to Sneakers, he became very protective and caring towards us. Whenever Sneakers would lay with us, he'd lay at our side and his face was in the opposite direction of ours. Sneakers would make sure we were able to breathe all the while with him laying beside us. He wanted to remain close but not to close to where he was stealing the air we were breathing. As we all got a little older and started using our words we really couldn't pronounce "Sneakers" too well. He eventually got a name change from "Sneakers" to "Snickers".

Our father of course didn't like it too much but understood why nonetheless. My father was the one who named him when they received him. Anyway, the reason my father chose such a name was because he literally looked like he was wearing his own sneakers. Snickers was a tabby cat with quite a bit of white at the bottom of all four paws, each one shaped to look like a shoe. I found it rather cute to see our family cat walking around. He'd be minding his business as we'd look and giggle a bit. Now before we got Snickers, we had another cat named Smudge. I believe my father found Smudge at his electrical job back in 1999. He brought him home after finding the stray wondering around the workers in search of food. Smudge looks quite a lot like the cat above on the left. The only difference is that Smudge had a black smudge on his nose. That mark upon his nose is how he earned his rather cute name.

Smudge kept his name because we, as kids, were actually able to pronounce it a bit better. Smudge and Snickers were the best of friends and you could tell every time they walked together. Eventually Smudge became more of an outside cat as we got older. I don't doubt that he just wanted to wander around due to being on his own until we got him. Snickers remained an indoor cat, most likely to keep an eye on us and he was more of a peaceful cat. He loved with his all and he is most definitely irreplaceable. Eventually we had a few hostile strays wander about the yard which ended up attacking Smudge. From that point he was no longer allowed to stay outside past seven thirty pm. We'd take him inside to ensure his safety as we laid traps outside with food in hopes of catching this feral cat.

One night as Smudge and Sneakers were inside, my father heard a loud snap from outside. He called his mother and they both went to investigate the outside. Turns out that the loud snap was the trap going off and a very muscular gray cat was inside the cage. He wasn't friendly at all and my father arranged for this cat's relocation. My father and grandmother knew the pound and shelter were bad ideas for such a cat. After we had the feral cat removed and relocated, we thought it safe for Smudge to be out and about again. Well I am very sad to say that one day, Smudge went missing but there was pieces of his fur and another cat's in our front yard. We assumed he had gotten into a fight, but it was very confusing that we just weren't able to locate him anywhere. After days and days of searching, we had found his body in the woods. We gave him a proper burial and funeral that day with white roses laid on his grave.

Snickers stayed by the window more often after Smudge went missing. He just didn't seem to be the same, but I know that even cats have periods of grief and loss. Eventually as the days went by, Snickers seemed to be more like himself. As the years went by, he seemed to be losing himself. We had gotten a few more cats (strays taken in) and Snickers was getting older and skinner. He remained to be the most loving and loyal cat that I had ever known. He never lost his love for his family. As the days kept going however, we had honestly thought his time was running out. We had started to keep an eye out for him around the house because he had started to walk slower. After my grandmother took a closer look at him, we had found out he was blind and not eating enough as well. My grandmother started isolating him with his own food so he could have proper meals.

It seemed as though the food could only sustain him for a little bit longer, but not for much longer. We ad gotten to the point where we were ready to say our goodbyes when he was. However, after bringing in three stray kittens into our bathroom it seemed as if he had gained a pep in his step. These kittens were found near the garbage disposal of my old elementary school. They were caught by my grandmother after she discovered them. As we set up the space for the kittens, Snickers literally walked in amongst them and sat down in the middle of them. They crawled about him and even tried to play with him as if that was their father. It was very cute, heartwarming, and sweet to see. I never had such an amazing experience where our cat had such humanity, love, and care about him. Snickers had so much love to give, even in his weakest moments and days.

Sadly as the kittens grew up, Snickers could tell he was no longer needed. Snickers was always wanted and always needed, but sadly we all can't live forever. He was getting ready to say his final goodbyes to us. As we returned home from school one day, we had heard of his passing. We had spent the previous day giving back the love he gave. We said our final goodbyes at his grave. Snickers was buried next to his best friend Smudge with a tombstone to go with his friend's flowers. I have never known such a loving cat in all my life and may he, as well as Smudge, forever rest in peace. We loved both our family cats very much.

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About the Creator

Kim.D.

https://www.facebook.com/KimDuckett02

Be sure to check out my facebook above! You will find all of my posts related or unrelated to vocal! It will also be an update on why you might not see as much stories being posted! I appreciate you all!

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  • Megan Duckett2 years ago

    Yeah those cats were irreplaceable may they rest in peace 🙏 miss them❤

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