Tiger,
the sadness of your departure is great, really great, but may this memorial also serve to thank you for your presence in our lives.
I remember perfectly the day you came to us, that first day of celebration on September 10, 2010. You were a grown-up cat, removed from the fate of being a field cat - but as it turned out, you never completely lost that nature. You arrived frightened, inside a red mesh bag, which your captors managed to improvise. It took a while for you to give us your trust, but I remember well the insistence on arousing your curiosity beginning to bear fruit, and you finally agreeing to come out from under the living room table and play along. We were a household of skeptics - we'd never had a cat at home, and two of us, even if we were curious, had our suspicions. But you quickly won us over in the most bizarre way possible: you went from pampering to complete irreverence in no time, like a good orange cat. We forgave everything (in fact, we liked the rebelliousness), and at that point you had the task of distributing attention and love to three owners - a task you performed with superb distinction.
You were a spoiled, playful, greedy and, I hope, happy child. You gave us affection, closeness, and saw good and bad changes. You were the attraction of the house, one that never went out of fashion, even if it was because you were up to mischief that we had to remember. Your evenings of games, fights, short walks and laps stretched on and on, and so did the seasons. Your senior owners left, one at a time, and you missed them; until the end, they loved you. The family received another owner, and of course you were incorporated into their lives, gaining another admirer. It wasn't possible for you not to make a strong impression.
The years weighed on you, but your jovial spirit remained, and only illness managed to defeat it. We went through a scare, but we still had the privilege of having you with us for a while. Until, unfortunately, the deterioration accelerated, and the damn disease took away your strength and energy. No cat deserved to go through that, least of all you, the best cat in the world. It hurts so much that it took you away and prevented you from continuing to welcome us with that contagious joy in your eyes. You've taken a big chunk of us with you, but maybe that's right: after all, you've left us so much more.
The owners love you very much, Tiger, and they miss you. The house and habits are colder and sadder. We'll miss your voice, your fur, your distinct presence, and your place can never truly be filled.
May these few words do a little justice to how much you have meant.
