Today we unexpectedly lost our beloved Sir Oliver.

I brought him to the vet early this morning for a dental cleaning and extraction. I was surprised to receive a call from the vet’s office only an hour after I had dropped him off; they definitely couldn’t have finished the procedure by that time. It was the veterinarian herself, and she did not have good news. Unfortunately, once they got Sir Oliver under anesthesia and were able to fully examine his mouth, they discovered he had a large mass under his tongue. It was clear that this mass had grown very rapidly and was almost certainly malignant. We had no real choice but to say goodbye to our sweet ginger friend. It was quite a shock but I am grateful that we were able to go back to see Sir Oliver and be with him in his last moments.

Sir Oliver joined our family in the summer of 2005, when he was about 6 months old. We met him at a local shelter where he and his brother were up for adoption. The rescue had named them Sugar and Spice. He was sugar because he had a small patch of white on his chest and a little white around his face, whereas his brother was entirely orange. My daughter Adele loved him at first sight and asked if we could bring him home. By some coincidence, Lord Dormir was also named Sugar before we adopted him, so it felt a little like this “Sugar” was meant for our family too.

Adele wanted to name the kitten “Oliver” after the little orange kitten in Oliver & Company. Of course our cats must always have titles, so Ian dubbed him Sir Oliver Cromwell.

Sir Oliver and our daughter grew up together, so naturally they developed a close bond. That’s why Sir Oliver often refers to Adele as “my lady” in my stories here, while he only addresses me by my name.

Sir Oliver had an unfortunate case of resting bitch face. His natural facial expression was either grumpy or disappointed. One time he happened to meow just as I tried to take his picture, and I ended up with this gem:

He enjoyed using people as furniture, without a single care for whether or not it was convenient for them:

He also loved snuggling up under blankets, and if a blanket was not available then your sweater was an acceptable substitute… whether or not you were wearing it at the time:

He was usually cautious of strangers but once he got to know you, then he was quite a cuddler:

Sir Oliver was a part of our family longer than any other pet we’ve had. He was also the last of my four original crew on this blog, and losing him today feels like the end of an era. He will never be forgotten.

My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today.
–Watership Down, by Richard Adams