When Dad died of cancer back in 2006 Mom was inconsolable. He meant so very much to her. Her house felt so empty without him. Too quiet by far. So she wouldn't feel so all alone, she began to search for a cat to be her companion. Now, you'd think you could just go to a shelter and pick one up, but because Mom had the lymph nodes in her arm removed (cancer) the cat needed to be de-clawed.
She worked with the local shelter and, sure enough, a few months later she received a phone call and Reggie came into our lives. He was smaller than my two tom cats. His fur was a little longer than short-hair cats; the feel of the fur under your hand was simply luxurious.
He was good company for her. He was a talky-cat and filled up some of the silence. She named him Reggie after Dad. Raymond Eugene Gross; R. E. G. Similar to how she signed her hand-crafted greeting cards (GiGi). She was very creative.
One of his talents was as a mouser. Time after time he'd catch mice. Better than any trap! The downside to him catching mice was when he "gifted" them to Mom while she slept. Then she'd discover them when she woke up. Ewwwww...
Mom fed him Fancy Feast canned cat food. She gave him cat treats from time to time. He ate Purina Naturals dry cat food. Loving Momma that she was, Reggie also got special food on holidays (the good food with real shrimp!). She loved him very, very much.
