When we moved to our new house 2 years ago, we would always see this friendly white cat with little black spots on his nose while walking to the park. We saw him so frequently, but did not know his name. So Ethan, my then 4 year old, named him Whitey. Over time, Whitey began coming to our door and eventually started sneaking inside. We didn’t know the owners, but were assured by several neighbors that although he had a home, he was a “neighborhood cat” and that he had lots of other houses that he visited as well. He was quiet, I only heard him meow a handful of times. He was also sweet and layed back and in his old age just enjoyed coming to our house and laying on the couch or the floor next to us while my boys would sit and pet him with huge smiles on their faces. Jack my little one, would enthusiastically tell people almost on a daily basis, “Whitey is a cat that comes to visit us and he is SO nice! He doesn’t even bite us!!!” Eventually we found out his real name was Snowflake and he lived three houses down the street with a nice family.
A few months back my next door neighbor called out to me while I was getting home from somewhere and told me she had some bad news. Whitey had gone to sleep under his favorite tree that morning and later in the day his family found him dead. He was old and it was his time, but we will still miss him.
To Snowflake’s family, thank you for sharing your precious kitty with all of the neighbors. And to Whitey, thank you for being our friend and sharing part of your happy life with us. Rest in Peace.
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