R.I.P. Big Boy

A little while back I mentioned that we had a cat nicknamed Big Boy.  Unfortunately, Orion passed away yesterday.  He was 15.  My husband and I got him from the Greenville Humane Society right after we got married.  We had already gotten a stray kitten named Athena, and we wanted to have two kittens at the same time.  So the two of us drove up to the Humane Society and picked him out.  He was in a cage all by himself, and unlike the extremely loud kitten in the cage next to him, he sat there very quietly.  He reminded me of my cat growing up because he was all white with a black tail.  My cat Garfield was the same, except he had three black spots on his head and three on his side along with the black tail.  People always commented about how his tail didn’t match the rest of his body, and this was just one part of his charm.  I would say it was as if God went to a Pull a Part auto shop when He made him.

There was a piece of masking tape with the words PART SIAMESE scrawled upon it stuck over his cage at the Humane Society, but we didn’t take much notice of it.  He may have been quiet at the time, but he sure fooled us.  😉  We picked up Orion and he bumped his head into our chin over and over again.    Well, we were hooked and brought him home.

We soon found out why the tape noted PART SIAMESE.  He may not have had the markings of a Siamese, but he sure had the distinctive voice and was VERY loud.  Many of my friends would laugh when they would hear him talking to me in the background while I was on the phone.  When my children were babies, someone on the phone would say, “I hear your baby calling for you!” and I’d answer, “Yes, my four legged baby!”

Athena wasn’t sure at first, but after a couple of meetings, she immediately took to him and they acted just like siblings – wrestling, snuggling together, and sounding like elephants when they would play upstairs.  We called them brother and sister.  Even in old age, they’d still wrestle.

Orion had numerous nicknames through the years – Chunk, Big O, Mr. O, and last but not least, Big Boy.  I’m not sure when we started calling him this, but Big Boy was our favorite I think.  We also called him our Sweet Boy.

When our children came along, Big Boy acted like a stuffed animal and pretty much let them do as they pleased to him.  We watched them carefully though and never let them abuse him.  I hope that our girls have learned that animals have to be respected too.  I have many a picture of them holding him.  One of the funny things Orion loved to do was get in our girls’ toys and chairs.  No place was safe from a nap!

And a Brown Home Video was not a true Brown Home Video without a Big Boy cameo.  He had a knack for knowing that someone somewhere was recording, and eventually you’d hear his voice and a black tail moving back at forth at the bottom of the screen.

Here’s an example – Big Boy enters at :20 and you soon hear him for the rest of the video:

He loved attention and was always the welcoming committee for any guest. If you are of the opinion that cats are aloof and cold, well then, you never met Big Boy.

During the winter, both cats would get in our bed and snuggle up to me.  At some point, I woke up to snoring. I thought it was my husband and even kicked him a few times to stop.  Turns out it was Big Boy.

He always snuggled up next to my feet while I worked in the office.  Sometimes his sawing logs would break up whatever I was trying to concentrate on at the time, but I didn’t mind.

Fifteen years was not enough time.  I suppose though that it doesn’t matter how old a pet is – it’s never enough time.

So Orion, I’ll shed a small tear for you when I hike up Big Boy Mountain again this fall if I have any left.