In Memory of Garden Cat

This past year, as we built our new garden, a stray cat kept us company outside. Cari and the kids started feeding him and he would run out to greet anyone that wanted to spend time in the garden. I named him Garden Cat.

You might remember when I wrote about Garden Cat once before after he killed some obnoxious birds that were nesting in our trees.

I always enjoyed Garden Cat being around as our outdoor pet and I sometimes wondered how he would survive the winter.

Truthfully, I didn't always enjoy him. It was times like rubbing up against my leg when he was wet or covered in mud, using the sandbox as a toilet, laying under the car tire, and killing local wildlife that I didn't enjoy as much. There were plenty of times I shooed him away and cussed his existence, but I loved him.

We haven't seen Garden Cat for well over a month now. I'm not sure if he was eaten by a dog, killed by birds looking for revenge, or finally got what he deserved from a car. It's possible that a family took him in as a pet. I pity the family that may have done that. Garden Cat was not meant to be caged in a house. By now, that family's furniture has been ripped to shreds and the carpet smells of urine.

What happened to him, I will probably never know. What I do know is that this stray cat brought us some smiles and company as we enjoyed our garden and now he is gone. I placed a small cat statue next to the bench and the garden is now known as Garden Cat Memorial Flower Garden in Liberty. Otherwise known around the house as GCMFGL.