Punchbowl Blog

I got a very sad call tonight from my brother. His beloved (and very crazy) cat Marcel had to be put to sleep. He was only 4 1/2 years old.

In my family, pets are treated as part of the family — so the loss of a pet is very sad. In this case, Marcel’s life was cut short by a known heart condition. My brother and his wife always knew that Marcel would live an abbreviated life, but they never expected a mere 4 1/2 years. That all changed suddenly this evening.

Marcel was a cat that lived life to the fullest. I’ve known many cats in my life, and I’ve never seen a cat so full of energy and so crazy. Here’s just a partial list of things that Marcel could do:

1. Turn on the bathroom faucet himself (yes, himself!), to drink directly from the faucet
2. Jump 3 feet vertically into the air, chasing a toy feather
3. Steal your socks as you’re trying to get dressed (this happened to me on my last visit in July)
4. Sprint across the living room at top speed, so all you saw was a flash of orange (followed by another flash of orange as he ran the other way)

Marcel is a cat who lived his life to the fullest. He wasted no time, and everyone who met him had the same impression: that is one crazy cat.

Do you live your life to the fullest? What would you change if you knew your days on earth were numbered? Would you spend more time with loved ones? Would you spend more time having fun? Would you just act a little more crazy once in a while?

Take a moment today and ponder the life of Marcel and pay him a tribute. Run across the room, or jump straight into the air, or drink directly from the faucet (yes, actually try this… it’s fun). Do something to remind yourself that tomorrow is not promised to anyone — whether you are a cat or a person.

To Marcel: you crazy, crazy cat. You will be sorely missed.

This entry was posted on December 15, 2008 at 11:18 pm and is filed under Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.