Goodbye Spikey…

My parents had to put Spike down today…

Spike was one of my parent’s cats – we got him when I was in college so I never quite considered him my cat but he was part of the family just the same.   Spike was a ginormous orange cat who was the biggest baby you have ever seen.  He weighed approximately 25lbs and loved to lay on your lap.  If your tummy hurt, he would lay right on it.  If you had a surgical wound, that was exactly where he would plop down.  He tried to heal your hurts with his gentle purring.  Spike also loved to suck his paws like a baby – it wasn’t unusual for him to lay on your tummy purring away while sucking his paws and leaving wet paw prints on your blanket.

We took him from the shelter when he was only 3 months old.  By then he was already huge for his age and was overlooked by everyone looking for a kitten.  He had the sweetest disposition and loved ice cubes and cat treats.

Spike earned his name while I was in Europe… yes I left the naming to my dad and sister.  I wanted to name him Colby or Bree but they said every time he gave himself a bath his hair stood up in spikes and it just fit his personality.  We called him Pike or Pikey most of the time and since he was ginormous and had the tail of a squirrel, we decided he was not a cat but a “squicadog.”  We figured out he had to be at least part Maine Coon because of his size and characteristics.  Since he was a shelter cat we will only ever know that he was found on the side of the road.

Goodbye Pikey… you will be missed…