R.I.P. to the Baileyman

Danielle called me on Saturday morning. She told me that she wanted to talk to me before we all met up for lunch.

Apparently, the coolest cat on the planet, our Bailey, had passed away in his sleep on Friday night.

Sadcakes.

Bailey was a joint project. Danielle let me adopt him when we first moved in together. We were always good about "no joint purchases" - so I picked Bailey. He was my responsibility. He had kennel cough when I brought him home. Our first job as new parents was to drag him out from under the bed by his neck every night and wrap him in a towel so we could give him his medicine via eye dropper and not get scratched to death.

He hated it.

So needless to say, it took a while to win him over.

But in the long run, he was the coolest cat around. He was chatty, he liked to have a chat when you got home...he'd tell you about his day and sometimes he would even sit to listen to you talk about your day. He was a lover, he liked to have his belly rubbed, he'd get you to follow him across the room...on your knees...as he continually rolled away from you and you scooted to follow and keep rubbing the belly. He loved a good nap (but not with me cause I moved too much) and he'd power nap with Danielle like nobody's business. But most importantly for the Reckenroll, he was a rockstar...he had his own thing going on (like any good cat) and he didn't care if you partied with him or not.

When I moved to London I couldn't take him with me. I wasn't willing to put an 8 year old cat in quarantine for the 6 months the UK govt required. Regardless of the fact that Zak and I hadn't lived together for a year, I always secretly thought he liked Danielle better... so it was a logical conclusion that he should stay with her.

So he did.

When I came back 3 years later, it didn't make sense to take him back. He had a good thing going on. He was 13 years old and had a yard, a family, and a kitten to hang with. I couldn't offer him any of that. So he stayed on with Zak, and when I'd come to visit I'd get a cuddle and a passing confirmation that I still ranked (but not as high as I used to).

And on Saturday morning/night, it was Danielle who found him after he'd decided to check in to the kitty heaven in the sky. Unlike any other pet passing in my life, he was curled up in a sleeping type pose and completely at peace. He lived to be almost 15 years old. He wasn't sick, or hurt, or in any type of pain. He was happy. He was vibrant. He lived a big full life and I can't even be sad that he's gone except that I am sad I'll never get another cuddle.

Thanks for everything Baileyman. You rocked.