I Am Iron Man

dean passed away last month. i kept meaning to write about it, and write about him, but at the end it felt like a bit of a relief that he went so quickly. he'd gotten so skinny and he was so ravenous all the time and i suspect he had a thyroid issue, but i couldn't afford to get him checked out to be sure. so we tried our best at home and he was happy (and demanding!) and well fed up until the last day or two when he started acting a little senile and trying to hide in weird places. we knew it was coming soon

i had my grand jury interview and then work on a day where he'd been acting iffy. we were kind of counting down when it was going to happen b/c he was still acting normal otherwise, just wanted to hide somewhere stupid, and he'd acted similar in the past when he hadn't felt well. tony had messaged me to let me know he confined him to his room and, later on (like, a HALF HOUR before i got off work), let me know that he'd passed peacefully

i came home and realized i did not have a decent shovel to dig a hole for him with, so bussed out and grabbed one from the hardware store, then came back and spent the rest of the daylight digging him a spot

i'd gotten one pic of the three of them on the porch that morning (dean yearning to find somewhere outside to flee to and die, clearly)



beans was a fatty, a cuddler, a top tier supervisor who loved to, like, be involved if you were cooking or cleaning or moving things around. he was always in the kitchen when i made dinner (waiting for a much beloved nip of 'chikky'). he was always observing things if i was moving stuff around or cleaning and reorganizing. he liked to sit on tables and stands and chairs that were being moved and go along for the ride.

he LOVED tony - he loved me, but tony was his person (even if he also constantly wanted to fite him). he also loved to cuddle when the weather started to cool, especially inside of my sweatshirts or blankets. he liked to spoon with you and hold your arm/hand when he did so. he'd often sleep between us, if he could. he joined us every night for dinner in bed, immediately taking up space in my lap while i was eating so he could take a nap

his favorite toys were 'weedles' (pipe cleaners) and the catnip stuffed toys - especially the heart and the fishies. he loved feathers on strings and jumping around after them (if finn didn't spot them first). he also loved eating cobwebs. don't know what that one's about



he was sixteen or so, which is a good long life for a cat. and it feels like an eternity and also a blip at the same time. he seemed like he was always a kitten until one day, suddenly, he was an old man. and that was probably around 14-15 lol. i am sad he's gone, but i am so, so happy we got such a long time with him in the first place