RIP Thor

 

Last week one of the Guelph cats, Thor, passed away. 

Originally my mom and brother got him from a Kijiji ad just before I left for Canada World Youth. At six years old, he was a package deal with Luna, who was then one, and joined then five-year-old Blackavar who was our present house cat.

His previous owner explained that they were going to have a child and felt they wouldn't be able to give Thor adequate attention. After taking the two in and seeing how Thor and Luna didn't get along, it was easy to imagine that they got Luna with the intention of keeping Thor company, and then chose to adopt them both out when it didn't work.

Thor had a heart-shaped tattoo on the inside of his ear, indicating that he was originally a rescue, meaning that by the time he came to us he had been displaced at least twice already.

But his life was smooth sailing from thereon out. He liked it in his new home well enough that despite already being middle aged, he decided to live an entire extra life expectancy.

His relationship with Luna improved, his previous owners probably just didn't give them enough time to acclimate to each other. He developed a deep bond with my brother Duncan. When we first got them, there was a bit of an assumption that Thor, being the big cat, would bond with me because we share a similar stature, while Luna would bond with Duncan, but the reverse turned out to be true.

He was a quiet and patient cat, although he could be quite insistent at times. It was always an event to hear him meow or murble. He liked to flop on his back and get belly rubs.

Despite being the oldest cat in the household when we got him, he wound up surviving both Blackavar and Luna. He also survived Cassidy, who was adopted to replace Luna and passed unexpectedly three years later, and lived long enough to meet Castor and Pollux.

I was concerned about how Thor would adjust to the kittens when they were adopted. Common knowledge dictates that you should have cats in a similar age category. It has always always been the family policy though, to have an older and a younger cat. The idea being that the younger one brings out the kitten in the older one. So far this policy has worked out for us, but even so, two three month old cats integrating into a household with a twenty year old seemed extreme.

But the transition worked out fine. Thor seemed happy for the company and would cuddle, groom, and sometimes even engage in play with the kittens, and Castor and Pollux never seemed too pushy with their elder roommate.

He never experienced any serious health concerns except for a little arthritis. As he aged, he began to thin but they started giving him a higher-calorie cat food and he plumped up to a healthy weight again. A week before his passing he was still getting the zoomies, begging for sour cream, and playing with kittens. In his final days he began to slow down but didn't seem in discomfort. In the end, he passed while sleeping in my brother's bed, near his favourite human.

Thor's passing isn't a tragedy, but as it is follows Cassidy's, which also happened this year, and Blackavar's the year before, it all comes to a lot of cat loss in a relatively short span of time. It marks the passing of a generation of Guelph cats, and a new one set by Castor and Pollux.

It will be sad not to have Thor around anymore, but it's encouraging that he had such a good and long life, with such a peaceful end. He remains a huge symbol of success for my Guelph family.