Foz

When I was 23 years old, I was a graduate student and had a graduate assistantship at our housing department, which was in the bottom story of one of our dorms (which no longer exists). One day, I walked up to the back door that was near my office and a co-worker shoved a box in my face and said, "Do you know anyone who wants a cat?". Inside the box was the cutest, tiniest ball of fur I had ever seen. I already had one cat, who was kind of crazy, so my first response was, "If Tang doesn't eat him, I can probably keep him."

As soon as the two met, they were instantly drawn to each other. Foz, who couldn't have been more than six weeks old immediately started trying to nurse on Tang, a male cat...and TANG LET HIM! From then on, they were inseparable!

 

I tried to come up with a cute name for him, and wasn't having any luck until I started working on acronyms. I originally named him Fos, but quickly changed the spelling to Foz because I liked it better. Originally, Fos stood for:

Found on Steps
Found outside Snowden (the dorm)
Fleas on Self
Fixated on Shoes (He loved to play with laces and sit in the shoes)
Full of S*%# (because he pooped A LOT!)
and probably a few more that I can't remember anymore.

At first, he was pretty laid back, but after a while, he developed some anxiety. At one point, we actually had him on kitty Xanax. He was a very sweet cat, though, who loved to cuddle on his own terms. Tang was always his best friend, and when Tang passed almost two years ago, we saw a definite change in Foz. He became a lot more friendly, seeking us out and wanting to cuddle a lot more. He and Karyssa grew very close.

The most remarkable thing about his last year was his relationship with Gemma. Foz would not go near Kyran and Karyssa when they were little, but he loved Gemma. The first time she sat up for any length of time was when she was looking at him. One of her first words was "meow". Every time we passed the laundry room, where he spent most of his time (avoiding Bella), she asked for him and wanted to go pet him.

A few weeks ago, we noticed he was eating less, and then went two days without eating at all. I took him to the vet who said my least favorite word ever...cancer. The same diagnosis as Tang nearly two years before, when he had also just turned 14. I assumed that we had at least a month, since that's about how long Tang lived after his diagnosis, but last Thursday he took a horrible turn for the worse and he passed on Friday, just before I had to pick the kids up from school.

Karyssa and Kyran have dealt with it pretty well. Both shed some tears and have said how much they miss him. Gemma just doesn't understand. She still asks for him when we pass the door. She now says, "Foz...meow?" when she can't find him. It just breaks my heart.

I miss him too. For the first time in 28 years, I don't own a cat. I don't have a soft, furry body that I can nestle my face into when I'm sad. I can't feel the vibrating purr of a happy cat sitting in my lap. I can't watch my children learn how to be gentle and loving to an animal that is smaller than they are. I am sad. Foz and Tang were my first "children" as an adult and now they are both gone. They were with me through so many stages of my life.

It's definitely not the same without my sweet kitties.

 

Gemma trying to get Foz to come out of his room.

Last kisses and cuddles...