A Furry Diary - Boogy

No,  not the dance kind of boogy!

Boogy is a cat that I grew up, he was the first cat to enter my life. He was from a friend of my father’s, but because he decided to travel the world, he couldn’t keep Boogy anymore. So he gave him to my father, and he promised to take good care of Boogy. From what my father told me, Boogy used to be a stray…

My favorite photo of Boogy.

My father had Boogy before he met my mother. My mother wasn’t really a big fan of Boogy, because he could be very scary, especially at night. When we had to go downstairs to use the bathroom. He would sit on the stairs, in the dark. He scared my mother like that multiple times. My father and me had a better bond with this little feline.

I can’t remember how old I was when Boogy passed away, but I think I was younger than sixteen. If I was 13 years old, when he passed away, he would have been 5 years old when I was born.

Boogy was a really, really friendly cat. He would chase butterflies or bugs, he was a great hunter. He was a true adventure cat, he loved to go on adventures. He could stay away for a few nights but he always came back. Sometimes with a gift and sometimes without. He also had a different side. Boogy had a side that you rather didn’t see, and that was when you had to take him to the vet. It was a problem to get him in the carrier, and even at the vet he would still behave like that. Lashing out, biting, growling and meowing. He would try everything to defend himself from that stranger in the white coat.

He was great with children. I could put him clothes on if I wanted, he didn’t bother. He would sleep in my dolls-bed. Not only was he good with children, he was good with dogs. He didn’t give a damn about dogs and how enthusiastic they were. Boogy demanded respect from dogs. Especially when they got older. But just like Rosie he had to make place for our first dog. He and Rosie slept in the garage for a long time in our new house, but where Rosie didn’t dare to enter the living room, Boogy would. Especially when he got older, he prefered his chair over the garage.

Boogy in his chair.

Boogy was a wise old cat, but a friendly old cat too. He loved to be pet, yet he was no lap-cat. He was a typical ‘it is how it is’- cat. He lived in the now. And even though he got older, he still chased butterflies, even at the age of 16/17. his favorite spot in the summer was where the sun was. If the dog dared to come close while Boogy was in his chair, the dog could expect a scratch on his nose. But overtime they even got to respect each other and Saartje (the dog) could just sniff Boogy, and he wouldn’t mind.

But I always thought it was very funny, that when Boogy decided to get some fresh air and go outside. He would hop off his chair, walk through the living room to the door to get out, and Saartje would follow him, hysterically barking. Boogy didn’t care, he simply ignored the door. Like he was trying to say: Whatever. It was always hilarious to watch them two.

Boogy got older and older, and when he was 16-year-old he wasn’t that healthy anymore. He had trouble getting into his chair, and one day my mother freaked out when she noticed fluids coming out of Boogy’s ears. She thought it was blood, so she and my older sister when to the vet. When they came home it was nothing too dangerous, but ever since that day Boogy’s health got worse. Until one day he couldn’t stand up anymore and refused to eat or drink.

I remember very well that I was staying the night at my grandparents. They got a call from my parents and my grandfather gave the phone to me. My parents told me that the vet had euthanized Boogy. He had a stroke or something like that, and because he was so old the vet said that he wasn’t going to make it anymore. They didn’t want Boogy to suffer, so their best option was to let him go.

Boogy was 18 years old, My parents buried him in their garden.

He was an amazing cat, he reminds me a lot of Suki and of Limbo somehow. That look in his eyes is what I see back in Suki’s eyes, and Limbo’s coloring looks a bit like Boogy’s. Even though Boogy used to be a stray, we never noticed that. He was a free spirit, loved to go on adventures. Yet he was sweet and loving and always came back. He had a good life, and that’s what is the most important.

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