Mario In Memoriam

Last summer, Nick Adam Lawes shared a collection of garden cat photos with us -- you can see them here. Here is another feline from that collection:

"Found in a box by a field on the outskirts of Milan in northern Italy in 2003, Mario came into my life at precisely the right time. I shared some of my best and worst moments with him. We lived in the centre of Milan and Mario was quite a society boy, but after some holidays together to north Bohemia, he longed to go back to his roots and become a full time country boy!

"2010 we moved to the Czech Republic where Mario insisted on turning the run down patch of grass surrounding our neglected holiday home into an Arts and Crafts style garden.

"Mario was extremely close to me and would sleep under the covers with me at night. He had no time for other people and wasn’t shy in letting them know it! He liked other animals and was always very fair, but wouldn’t put up with arguments amongst the other cats.

"During his life, he spent time in Italy, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, and he’s the only individual other than me I know who’s been to Lichtenstein!

"Over the years being here we’d started renovating the house DIY and building the garden, which Mario oversaw. We also took in a German Shepherd puppy and an ever increasing family of unwanted kittens.

"Mario passed away in my arms earlier this year. Leading up to his death I began to wash him and help him to the toilet... he became sick very quickly and I knew it wasn’t good.

"At the end, I got it. All this time I thought that I had been the one who had loved this grumpy beige cat who just put up with me... moments before he died he reached out to me and I lay nose to nose with my boy - eye to eye with this beige cat who meant the world to me...and when he took his last breath I felt nothing but love and gratitude for having had him in my life.

"We love our cats for a reason. Like all animals, they’re not just animals or pets... they’re individuals with characters and needs and they love, hurt and get jealous... they’re just like us.

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