This is just something dedicated to not only one of my cats, but one of my friends. Some may say it's corny for me to consider him one of my friends, but once they met him they would understand. People who had the chance to meet my cats all say the same thing...... "Your cats all have personalities" and they're right. I had three cats with three different personalities....three different attitudes.

Gatsby is the oldest and it shows...hehe.... the Siamese in him really shows. He's been all over with me.

Onyx is the runt, the youngest. He's the devilish little snuggler. Always befriending anyone who happens to visit.

Milo was the middle cat. He was definately all mine. From early on he found comfort with staying close to me. As a tiny kitten, he found a place to sleep right across my neck. That was no problem for me until he started to really grow. Over the years, he acquired so many unique traits and quirks. He used to attempt dominance over Gatsby. That didn't work so well, so he tried it with me.....that did work...hehe....
It's always easy to remember the recent. The last couple years, he and I got even closer. My alarm goes off at 5:45 every morning. He used to watch me get dressed for work. Once my work shirt was on, he would stand on the edge of the bed waiting for me to step closer to him. If I was close enough, he would stand up against me so I could give him his morning attention. Just something to start both our days off on a bright note.
Getting home was always fun too. He and Onyx would both greet me with tons of attention and meowing. I would stop by the fridge for a beer on the way to the couch for some unwinding. Milo would be right there. As soon as I sat down, he would hop up on my knee for some relaxation balancing act. None of the other cats could or would perform that like him. He and I would just sit and chill watching the Discovery channel or Animal Planet only if they had something on big cats. So there we sat for a couple hours sharing my beer. He was just as picky as I am about the beer too...hehe... He would only share Budweiser. Nothing else. At the most, though, he would sneak licks off my bottle. We would snuggle for a bit until my now wife came home. Then he would split his time between the two of us. I found that amazing because he used to be so jealous of her and would bite her when she tried to pet him. Not only did he get used to her, he got to loving her. When it was bedtime, he would let us know by running down the hallway into the bedroom and onto the bed. He would just stand there and meow. He got louder the longer it took us to get there. He would lay between us for awhile then make his way under the covers to sleep between my knees. This was EVERY night for 4 and a half years.

In September of '99 my wife, Jackie, and I took a 10 day trip to Texas. Her sister kept an eye on the cats for us. She told us she couldn't find Milo whenever she came by to feed and visit them. I thought nothing of it, he gets like that with people other than Jackie and myself. When we got home, I found him under the couch scared and terribly skinny. The vet said he must have stopped eating out of depression since there was nothing else wrong. That gave him jaundice. The vet inserted a feeding tube straight to the esophagus so we could help him gain weight and kick this jaundice stuff. 3 months of this and we got him back to normal. There he was... like nothing ever happened. We took another trip to Texas in July '00. We were obviously worried for Milo. He did great! Stayed out in plain sight. Eating normal and everything. We got back and saw he had no problem with us leaving for a week. Then out of nowhere..... he just stopped eating again around late August. He started losing weight and got jaundice again. I recognized the symptoms early and saw the vet for some special food. He was on the upswing again... for a little while. He was never the same... interested in food, but not eating it. We took him to the vet quite a few times. That week before he died, he was so skinny but for some reason, so happy. The real Milo was still inside. He played, snuggled, all the things he used to do....except eat. He had another vet appointment set for the day he died. I got home from work early. Jackie got home an hour or so later. She asked if we were ready and I told her I couldn't find him. She told me to look under the couch since she saw him there just hours before. I looked..... he looked like he was sleeping so comfortably. I said his name expecting the usual tail flicker whenever I called his name....nothing. I had never felt like I did that moment I got no reaction from Milo. I knew, but didn't want to believe it. He was supposed to get another feeding tube that day. It just all ended then and there. I can feel relief in knowing he won't ever suffer anything again. I can feel the pain in knowing he will never be around. I can feel joy when I think of the last 4 and a half years with him. This is my little memorial for Milo...... We will miss you Milo.

And to Milo...... Don't worry, Onyx is watching for ghosts now.

This site has really made things easier. There are lots of ways to deal with the loss of a dear pet. These people show you those ways.......