Goodbye, Baxter

Monday, January 24, 2022

It's a sad day in the RV. Baxter has crossed over the rainbow bridge. He is now playing with Friskie, Mimi, Millie, Luckie and Maggie. 

No matter how many times you say goodbye, it is never easy. At 15-1/2, Baxter had a pretty good run for a large male cat with health issues.

He always had a calm assurance about him, as if he knew that he was top cat:

For those that met Baxter later in life, it is hard to imagine the scrawny, little kitten that walked up our driveway in August 2006 and demanded to be taken inside.

 

Having been born outside in our neighbor's hedge, he adapted well to indoor life. By Christmas, he already got the idea that stockings were important. Each morning, he very systematically took them from our laundry basket and left them under the tree.

Our other cats would hide every time company stopped by. Not Baxter. He wanted to be where the action was.

He loved to lord over the other cats. That's Baxter on the back of the recliner. The other black cat is Flip, then Millie and Luckie. To this day, Flip has not forgiven us for adopting Baxter.

When we sold our house and moved into the RV, Baxter was ready. Now that we were retired, we were home more. He loved attention and loved to be brushed -- every morning. He loved it so much that we had to limit him to 100 brushes.

While Baxter was always a large cat, he did put on weight when we moved into our fifth wheel. The vet suggested taking him out for walks. At six years old, we weren't sure if he would take to the leash. However, he loved being outside so much, having the leash on never bothered him.

Truth be told, the reason he wanted out so much was he knew where Happy Hour was and he wanted to be a part of it. Can you say, "Cheese!"?

We have more Baxter stories than one blog can hold. However, the one that stands out most is the time we thought we lost him. For more details, click the link to this prior blog.

Baxter loved meeting people. If he liked you, he would pet your feet. He even liked meeting neighbor dogs (as long as they were friendly).

Baxter was always helpful around the house. He loved laundry day. He helped iron out any wrinkles when the laundry came out of the dryer.

He was always right on top of everything on move day!

It is true, he did spend most of his time resting, although he was entitled to rest, because supervising his humans was hard work.

He always loved a warm lap --

-- or a warm spot on the bed.  While Flip claimed a pillow between our heads, Baxter staked out the covers between our shoulders, which was always warmer on cold nights if the electric blanket was on.

While not one to make a fashion statement, he did make an exception for Mardi Gras. He loved to let the Good Times Roll!

There are plenty of toys around the RV, but it was the shadow monsters that really got him going.

You could also entice him into a game of fishing for kittens, as evidenced by this video of Baxter and Ruby in parallel play.

When Covid hit, we decided to rent a house for a winter, to let the Covid storm play out.  His unique specialty was to help us with our jigsaw puzzles upstairs on our puzzle table.  However, no matter how hard he worked, Baxter always enjoyed taking the time to rest and having a little extra room to stretch out on the sectional couch.

And, no matter how tired he was, he always had time for his new best little buddy, Rubidoux the kitten, who thought of Baxter as her favorite playmate:

For the past two years, Baxter was being treated for kidney and thyroid deficiencies. As he got older, it was just harder and harder for him to overcome those health issues. In his own way, Baxter told us it was time. The folks at Georgetown Veterinary Hospital near Savannah, Georgia were extremely kind and helpful while Baxter made his crossing.  We were able to hold him in our arms and give him cuddles and pets as he passed.

Goodbye, Baxter. Rest in peace.  We'll miss you dearly and think of you every day.