Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Yuki Cat, 2007–2023

Work-in-progress as we collect memories

Born: April, 2007

Died: August 13, 2023 (aged 16 years, 3 months; approximately 84 cat years) 

Characteristics:

  • Favorite toys: ring ball track (would mostly nuzzle), tennis ball--would extend legs and kick at it against a pillow, three-inch ring hair ties, wand toys, ribbon, 
  • Eyes: Blueish-green, looked like a cool green (teal), but one vet thought they were blueish
  • Parents:
    • Unknown
    • Was very socialized, not feral
    • Possibly abandoned/lost, and search was unsuccessful 
  • Personality:
    • Gentle spirit
    • Snuggler
  • Liked: meats (chicken, ham, turkey), cat treats, his cat arch, fleece blankets, 
  • Disliked: fruits
  • Memories:
    • Splashing his paws in bath water (with or without bubbles) as though digging 
    • Mur'ing repeatedly as he ran upstairs (and may down the stairs too?) Mur mur mur mur, in sort of a sing-song ascending tone
    • Slightly splayed arms to the sides and straight when we carried him, as though he was trying to stabilize himself (when he was younger, maybe when older)
    • Sometimes, after jumping up to a perch, he chirped as he completed the jump
    • Sitting in laundry basket fort
    • Making the bed: He would duck under sheets as we casted/spread them across the bed, staying under or burrowing around until we coaxed him out
    • Ciabatta roll: as a kitten, he got a Costco ciabatta roll out of its package on a shelf and trotted around with it in his mouth
    • His focused attention and energy when something of interest (usually a treat) came into view
    • Rolling on concrete to scritch his back
    • Chomping on grasses
    • Clambering six feet up trunk of tree, then stopping in a splayed position, assessing, and coming back down
    • Loved certain things with strong odors or textures: sweat-stained straw hat, used blood donation bandage, wool sweaters, sweaty hiking boots
    • Work interruptions: sat on notebooks, laptops, desk mats, etc., to get attention from his humans
    • Sitting in the interior of our IKEA MALM storage bed when we would open it
    • Stretching out fully into long cat
    • Nuzzling things
    • Nestling under the curtain of Dawn's long hair
    • Resting his chin on things 
    • Sitting in a sunbeam on the stairs
    • Eating cat kibble directly from the storage tub after climbing inside
    • Covering him with a large blue IKEA bag, then tossing a crinkle toy on top, which he would bat from within the bag; repeated this many times which was very fun
  • Nicknames: Buddy, panda bear, cow, Yukminster Fuller, Boookmonster Fuller, sweetie bean, vanilla bean, little lamb-y, chirpy bird, snuggle bug, Yuki-boook/Yuki book-y, Yucatan peninsula, overlord, Crouts (when he reminds us of Crouton the cow at the SquirrelWood Equine Sanctuary), long cat