Toby

Toby, aka Tober, Tobester, Toby-NO, Tobias (we tended to get formal when he was bad!), Orangie. Fall, 1992? - May 29, 2007 We first met Toby while looking for Leo at our local cat shelter. He jumped onto Alison's lap and looked at her upside down; she fell in love with him right then! Six months later, when we were ready to adopt, he was still there. His time in the shelter seems to have helped him socialize with other cats. He and Fluff got along fabulously until the last few years of her life: they often played, groomed each other,and cuddled together. He loved the outdoors, and literally talked me into taking him for long walks in our backyard. Toby always wore a harness ('H' style), and we left a leash tied to the deck near the back door which could be slipped on him when he wanted to go outside. Sometimes when he was outside he would come to the door; thinking that he wanted to come inside, I would open the door, but he would then walk away from me, clearly indicating that he wanted *me* out with him! He would often be waiting for me when I returned home from work on my bicycle; Alison said he always knew when I'd be coming home, and would wait for me either in our driveway or on his deck. As soon as I approached him he would meow and talk to me constantly until I would begin walking with him. Sometimes Fluff joined us. When we adopted Katrine, the two of them got along very well almost immediately; Katrine looked up to him as a big brother. When he came inside from the outdoors, she was so glad to see him that she often would give him a big rub and block his progress into the house! Later, when we adopted Merlin as a kitten, he too looked up to him as a big brother, and took on some of his habits; in particular Merlin too got hooked on the outdoors. When he was not outside, he could often be found on Alison's lap. At nighttime he often would cuddle next to me or Alison in the bed, and in the winter would crawl under the covers glued to my body. But even in the warmer months he would cuddle next to me, and if I was facing the other way I would feel a gentle tap-tap with his paw so I would turn over and put my arm around him.

In the summer of 2006, he was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure and had to be given IV fluids every other day. We would do this in the evening when he was more mellow, and it was yet another occasion to spend some time together. The following spring his appetite waned and he began to lose weight. But until the very end he still managed to get outside and even go on some short walks. In retrospect I am amazed that, just a week before he died, he went on a long walk into his backyard, all the way back to his "woods", that lasted over an hour. He died at home the evening of Tuesday, May 29, 2007. A post-mortem necropsy revealed he had hypereosinophilia. The vet found a large mass in the lymph node in the abdomen, and  significant thickening of the wall in the small intestine. The former  had lots of eosinophils. At that point it was difficult to determine  if it was cancerous; it could have been eosinophilic granuloma. My  guess it was cancer. In either case, this confirmed that there was  nothing we could have done differently in terms of treatment; he was  too weak to risk surgery. We can take comfort in knowing that we did  all that we could for him. Looking back, it's amazing that he found the strength to go for one last walk, albeit short, on that Sunday, and that that morning he woke me  up with a bite on the nose, per his custom the last few years.

We marvelled at his love for life, for his insistence on going outside even in the cold of winter, and his easy-going personality. We still miss him.

Toby on his leash, enjoying the outdoors

Toby and Fluff curled up together on Alison's lap

Fluff and Toby cuddled together, on everyone's favorite chair. It almost looks as though Fluff has another, orange tail coming out of her back!

Toby lying in the grass, one of his favorite summertime activities. He's close to the bushes, and when it gets too warm in the sun he'd go into the shade.

Toby sitting on "his" deck after a 20" snowstorm. He seemed so small in comparison to all the snow piled up. He loved to go outside even in the winter, but he just didn't stay out for any length of time when it was cold. It was frustrating for him to be confined to the deck; I tamped out a path with snowshoes but the ridges between snowshoe prints were too tall for him!

Toby lying in my arms in bed.

This was our last picture of Toby, taken a month before he died. It was typical of how he loved being cuddled in bed with me.