🐾 Caturday Tribute: Bobolink, and the Painted Stone
Some cats arrive in your life like a whisper. Bobolink was more like a vow.
He came to me at six months old, a street rescue with FIV. The SNIP bus rescuer had named him Boulder—because he wouldn’t move from a single step, trembling and crying when touched. He was considered unadoptable. But once inside my home, everything changed.
Happy Cat, my beta cat, took a special interest in him. Within weeks, Boulder was wrestling with his big brother, pouncing, running, and radiating joy. I renamed him Bobolink, after the bird whose song feels like a burst of sunlight. For five years, he was just that—sunlight. He slept beside me every night, not just for affection, but for the warmth his body came to need. He was my shadow, my comfort, my quiet pal.
Then came year six.
He was diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia, likely linked to his FIV. The vet recommended euthanasia. I pushed back. We tried statins, but his white blood cell count kept falling. Follow-up visits revealed amyloidosis—another fatal disease, slowly turning his organs to stone. Still, he stayed beside me. Still, he fought.
A silky black cat, long-haired, feather-tailed, furry-pawed, turquoise-eyed, he became my shadow, my warmth, my comfort. He slept beside me every night and most of the days as I worked at my computer—not just for affection, but for warmth he needed in an anemic body.
Seven months after the anemia diagnosis, his white count dropped to 7 (normal is 29). We planned a transfusion. But that weekend, he began struggling to breathe. His lips turned white. I rushed him to the ER in the middle of the night. While being prepped for the transfusion, his heart stopped. The vet brought him back with CPR but recommended letting him go, saying that he looked much, much older than six years old.
And finally, the moment came. I had walked in with my best friend. I walked out with an empty carrier.
I’ve lost cats before. I have seven others now. But Bobolink was different. We both fought so hard for his little life, he with no complaints, only snuggles, that his absence left a hole no other paw could fill.
The day I received his ashes, I had to place a Chewy order for one of the other cats—something routine, probably a prescription. I mentioned my grief to the customer service rep. Just shared it. No expectations.
And then, a few days later, along with my order, came a surprise: a painted stone with Bobolink’s name on it. Not from a warehouse. Not from a machine. From the CEO’s children. The handwriting—childlike, imperfect, beautiful. A gesture so personal it felt like someone had reached across the void and said, “We see him. We see you.”
That stone sits beside his ashes now. It’s not just a memorial. It’s proof that even in the most corporate corners of the world, compassion can bloom. That a cat who lived through hell and gave nothing but love could be honored by strangers who understood what he meant.
So, this Caturday, I honor Bobolink. And I thank Chewy—not just for the stone, but for seeing the soul behind the order.
Learn more about cats. See our many Caturday posts.
Be entertained. See all our posts about cats.
Be inspired. See posts by and about Sula, parish cat, and her books.
Have a chuckle. Read posts by and about Jeremy Feig's award-winning book (book of the year finalist, Kops-Fetherling Lagacy Award for Humor), How My Cat Made Me a Better Man.
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