Today is a rather bittersweet day. I look forward to 1st October all year as it signifies the start of the Halloween countdown and the Season of the Black Cat, but this year it also marks the fact that we have now had Louis Catorze for longer than we ever had his big brother, Luther. That makes me a little sad because, when we adopted Luther, we expected to have much more time with him. Nobody adopts a cat and plans to only keep them for 2 years, 2 months and 10 days.
That said, if Luther were still with us, Louis Catorze certainly wouldn’t be. When we discovered him, he’d already been waiting for a home for 15 months; had we not come along at that point, who knows how long he would have continued to wait? (Cat Daddy just read that bit, rolled his eyes and said, “Some other stupid suckers would’ve come along eventually.”)
We were initially drawn to Louis Catorze because, subconsciously, we wanted another Luther. But, in fact they couldn’t be more different: Luther’s face was chiselled and angular whereas Catorze’s is spherical (see pictures); Luther was sleek whereas Catorze is plushy; Luther wandered for miles and we’d often spot him in parts of the neighbourhood where he had no business going, whereas Catorze tends to stay close by; Luther was a healthy, intelligent thoroughbred whereas Catorze, erm, isn’t. But, over the last 2 years, 2 months and 11 days we have really enjoyed discovering these differences, and now we’re rather glad of them.
So, whilst we won’t exactly be celebrating this day, we will be giving Sa Majesté lots of love, thanking the universe for flinging him our way despite the heavy price we paid, and looking forward to the Season of the Black Cat. We hope you have an equally lovely day with your furry overlords of whatever colour.
jesuisleroisoleil 
What a milestone
A long way from when I found the poor little thing hiding in my garden!!
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We will always be grateful to you for taking care of him, Karen. You must come & visit him if you’re ever passing through TW8!
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Wow, how time flies! Though I hardly knew Luther, I do remember your pain when he passed away. And your joy when LeRoi came into your lives. And he choose wise 🐾. So, may ‘our’ Sunking live long and prosper! And so does his staff and this Blog xxxx
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I understand your opening with bittersweet. I’m certainly glad to have him, in a way, in my life as well. You have a heart of gold madame caretaker.
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That is too bad about Luther. It is always sad when they die young but at least he had a loving family while he was here.
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Thank you. Because he was a clever cat we somehow imagined he’d be smart when it came to cars, too, but he had no fear & therefore no sense of danger. Louis Catorze is only allowed out at The Front under supervision &, luckily, he stays out for just long enough to watch the world go by & then scuttles in at the sound of a car or a fox, which is where we want him to be. I know it sounds odd to say that you want your cat to feel fear, but just enough to keep him safe is a good thing, I think.
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Fear is there to keep us alive. We let our Chris outside and watch him. He usually stays close. When he starts to wander, that is when I bring him in.
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This is a lovely post, so full of your love for Louis Catorze and Luther. I’m so sorry Luther was taken away so cruelly, but I feel very privileged to have been able to witness your relationship with both cats. Thank you!
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