Fritz

Fritz at the age of 17

Our family pet Fritz went to the big scratching post in the sky yesterday just shy of her 19th birthday.  She was a wise old cat who outlasted Charlie (the lovable but mischievous cat) and Winnie (the devil reincarnated into feline form).  She dealt with all the little cousins petting her with a “w-WOW” (that was how she meowed).  Here are some Fritz highlights:

• We found her ON our home during Thanksgiving weekend, 1991.  We heard meowing during a windstorm so we opened the drapes, and Fritz was hanging on the window screen seven feet up in the air.  We brought her inside and like most kittens she was fascinated by everything.  We played with ping pong balls and laser pointers, and her body was completely snow white except for her tail and ears.  Over the years she got some color.
• Even in her old age, she would grumble all of  a sudden and run up the stairs like a crazy person.  Exercise, maybe.
• She loved Mozart.  One day my mom was listening to music on TV and Fritz started bobbing her head.  So I brought out a Mozart CD and she was entranced by it.  Smart cat, or just eclectic taste for a pet.
• She was the biggest furball in the world.  Not good for my allergies (or the vacuum), but I used to comb her to see if I could make a ball of cat hair bigger than her head.
• She often sat like a Sphinx out of respect for my family’s heritage, as you can see in the picture below.

She was a good cat.  She liked my brother and wife quite a bit, she kept my mom company in the study, and I’ll always remember her when I bolt up the stairs for no reason.  She outlasted Charlie, the crazy smart cat who lived hard and fast.  She outlasted Winnie, the devil cat who injured everyone in the family, including Fritz.  In some sense she outlasted my brother and me; in fact, she has lived with my parents longer than either of us.  Good cat.

w-WOW!

Fritz is bored with Charlie, circa 1996

Sphinx cat on the couch edge