RIP Rupert (2009-2022)

“Gray ones are trouble,” we would say to ourselves, watching Rupert climb the Christmas tree or jump up on top of the refrigerator from the counter.

And he certainly was trouble. He was a feisty gray tabby from the minute we first saw him and his sibling Ingrid at the foster home in 2009, where we’d gone to adopt a pair of kittens. He (and another gray tabby) were careening about the room, literally running sideways on the wall, bouncing off furniture and each other. He was super cute, so we adopted him and Ingrid together.

Tiny kitten Rupert
Rupert as a kitten, six weeks old, 2009

 

We knew that Rupert would never fill the void in our heart left behind by Tangerine and Sebastian, who had died within weeks of each other not long before, but having him in the house certainly brought us joy and laughter. When we put up our Christmas tree in 2009, he zoomed up like nobody’s business. We would look at each other and comment that he’d slow down in a few years.

And eventually he did, though he was always a lovebug. When he wasn’t tearing around the house, he was likely sitting on our laps and purring. Every day at suppertime, he would yell at us about how he was starving and the other cats were starving, couldn’t we see how starving he was, how he hadn’t eaten in eight years since the day before. He wasn’t a big fan of being held, unless it was in a very specific way, and would squirm and let us know that he had things he had to do! Like run up and down the stairs.

He was a good friend to the other kitties when he was at his prime, and would put up with a lot from the foster kittens. (When we got Sherman a few years later, we joked that Rupert had taught Sherman all about being a troublesome gray cat.)

He started vomiting regularly a year or so ago, and wasn’t feeling too well. The vet would give him shots of cortisone every month or so, and that seemed to do the trick for awhile. Then we put him on a daily steroid medicine, and that helped as well. But he continued to lose weight, he started peeing outside the litter box (a good sign that a cat is not happy), and he had horrible diarrhea. He stopped eating some days, would eat more others, but he wasn’t yelling at me at supper time anymore. The vet had initially diagnosed him with inflammatory bowel disease, which can lead to GI lymphoma, which is likely was Rupert had at the end. It’s difficult to detect, but he was clearly not happy, so we knew it was time.

The vet was compassionate and kind. Rupert did not like the first shot, but he went to sleep quickly and calmed down for the last time.

Now, his legacy lives on in Guffaw, who was a foster kitty that we wound up adopting a couple of months ago. Guffaw is a gray cat and therefore trouble, and he learned a lot from his mentor.

Thank you for the laughter, the love, and the memories, Rupert. You were a really good guy, and I will always love and miss you.

Rupert and Guffaw together
Rupert (on the right) with his latest protege Guffaw

11 thoughts on “RIP Rupert (2009-2022)”

  1. What a lovely tribute. Rupert was well loved and adored. I know he will be missed–they always are–but congratulations on your new little guy.

  2. How my heart hurts for you! I’m so glad you shared your precious Rupert with us in this way. He sounds like he was a very special boy and I know you will miss him immensely. Please find joy in your handsome young Guffaw.

  3. What a beautiful feline obituary, Rupert would be proud and thrilled at how much you thought of him. It is easy to see he was a real wonderful boy and you were the perfect family for him. I too had one with IBD we fought it for years and I finally lost him at almost 16 years. IBD is an awful disease and for some strange reason it does turn to or bring on the lymphoma but by that time there is no sense in doing biopsy’s as the cat cannot recover, my heart goes out to you and Rupert he sounds like a brave soul, So glad you have the little guy that always helps 🙁 Lovell

  4. Rupert sounds like a wonderful cat with lots of personality. You were lucky enough to have many loving years with him. RIP, Rupert. ❤️

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.