Beetlejuice is 13 years old. I guess i should say was, because he was put to sleep last week.
Beetlejuice was my cat. My cow cat, i liked to call him, b/c he was black and white calico. He was a gift from my then-boyfriend John at the end of my junior year of high school. Beetlejuice had a brother, too – Tigger, who died several years ago. I loved those kitties.
Tigger was orange, and it seemed the only appropriate name for him. Beetlejuice was named after the red star in the Orion constellation, Betelgeuse. Alas, the vet spelled it the more obvious way so Beetlejuice he became.
They were only “mine” for a little over a year. And then i went to college, and pets were not allowed in the dorms. And then i had a series of apartments, and all of my roommates were allergic to cats. It seemed that i would never get to claim those cats as “mine” again.
But they were always mine, in a way. It was one of the joys of going home to visit my parents, to get to see my kitties. To hold them, and have them purr appreciatively at my throat.
Beetlejuice was a scared-y cat. When new people came into the house, you wouldn’t see him for an hour, until he was sure everything was alright. But, when he was sure, he’d come out, and climb onto your lap whether you wanted him to or not.
My favorite story about Beetlejuice occured when i was away at school. My brother Adam wanted Beetlejuice to sleep in his room, so he brought the cat inside and shut the doors, away from his litter box. In the early morning, Beetlejuice was saying “meow! meow! meow!” but Adam did not want to wake up. Adam finally awoke to the feeling of heavy body on his chest (Beetle was no lithe kitty – he was a fat cat). And he was thinking “aww how sweet” and opened his eyes. As soon as he did, Beetle looked right at him, and then Adam felt something very warm all around him. Yes, Beetlejuice peed on him. Gross. But funny! (if it wasn’t you.)
Despite this incident, Adam took Beetlejuice in a few years ago, and then Beetlejuice was only 30 miles away instead of 230. I enjoyed seeing him when i could visit. A few months ago, Adam & Nora moved to Chicago, and couldn’t take Beetlejuice with them. He stayed with their roommate Lizzie, who took great care of him.
About a month ago, Beetlejuice stopped eating suddenly. Lizzie took him to the vet, and we found out he had cancer. After a biopsy, they determined there wasn’t anything they could do. It was very sad. He was kept on medication and out of pain until Wednesday of last week.
It’s awful, losing pets. They add so much joy to your life. I will miss Beetlejuice. But i am glad i got to know him.
November 8th, 2008 5:24 pm
Very sorry to hear about Beetlejuice. Good to see you write something about him — a great dedication to his memory.
November 10th, 2008 10:41 pm
Awww, this is a sweet post about your cat. I’m sorry to hear that he was put to sleep. Sounds like he was a very nice cow cat.