A Tribute to My Loving Cat: Hector - A Friend Since Gone

My little Hector, Hector the Adorable, King Hector, Adorably Hector, Little Lion, My Shadow, Never Far Hector and my Loyal Dog were just some of the many fitting names I would call you.

We welcomed you to your new home when you were aged just seven months and very quickly you made the house your own. During the first week in your new home you were a timid little kitten and I still remember you shaking and hiding under the furniture. During the first week you hid under the sofas in a couple of rooms and only came out at night for food when everyone had gone to bed.

Hector would sometimes sit under the bushes and watch the dog run after the ball.

Then, one day when we were eating dinner you plucked the courage to come out from under the sofa and decided to explore the surroundings of the kitchen and the conservatory. From this point you stayed in the kitchen area and played with some cat ball toys and were playing with but still in quite a timid manner. At this moment we were keeping you inside for a few weeks just so that you would become accustom to your new house.

I remember one day you were hiding under the living room sofa and I kept calling your name looking at you underneath the sofa hoping that you would come out but at that point you stayed under the sofa.

Then, one morning I woke up and I tiredly crept down the stairs for some breakfast but before I reached the bottom of the stairs I saw you were along in the hall beside my mother who said something along the lines of: he is no longer under the sofa! I remember giving you a big smile when I saw that you were no longer hiding under the sofa.

Previously, we had bought you a nice comfy looking cat bed for you to feel at ease in and no was the chance to show it to you, but all you did was sniff at it and walk away - it seemed that it was not up to your high standards! When I went back upstairs to the computer room you followed me and jumped on my comfy computer chair! So, I quickly went down stairs to find a spare chair from the kitchen, brought it upstairs and worked on the computer while you sat in the comfy chair!

Hector Tribute Video

You spent a good chunk of the day on that computer chair and when night approached I decided to go to bed. I remember before leaving the room you were all curled up on the chair and you looked all cosy, I thought at the time that you were asleep and would be sleeping in that chair for the night, but as soon as I went to my bedroom you jumped off the chair and followed me to the room and before I even started to get ready for bed you had already jumped up onto my bed and started making yourself comfortable. 

And ever since then you were on my bed during the nights (unless you were exploring all night), in the mornings or a number of occasions both night and morning every day since you first left your hiding spot under the sofa all those years ago.

Hector loved sleeping on this blanket on a King sized bed.

After a few weeks when we hoped that you had learned this was your new home, we let you explore the outside by opening the door to the back garden. When first going outside you seemed unsure and timed but I followed you around while you investigated the area and you were very curious!

Very quickly you became used to the outside, but you never seemed far away (hence, the name Never Far Hector) deciding to stick to the house garden or neighbouring gardens which quickly became your territory.  When I would go outside to throw the ball to the dog, it would just be a matter of time and out of nowhere you would show up and either sit and watch or start running from bush to bush and maybe even sprinting excitedly up a tree!

Then after a while a neighbour decided to give us his old leather computer chair. The neighbour's computer chair was not quite as comfy as the one I already had, but I thought maybe Hector would use the chair when he wanted to spend time with me while I was on the computer. Hector jumped on the neighbours old computer chair to investigate it but, no it did not meet Hector and his comfort requirements and Hector just jumped to the original computer chair! But, at least that meant I had another computer chair that I could sit in when Hector was in his preferred chair!

Hector loved the Computer Chair!

For some reason the same neighbour gave us another of his old computer chairs - it was the same material as my own computer chair and the seat was just as comfy, but I did not use it as the back was a strange and uncomfortable shape. So we ended putting it on the balcony of the Summer House that was in the garden, so that also ended up becoming a comfy spot for the Hector to curl up whilst he also had a roof over his head. 

Another name I referred to you as was My Shadow - this was because when I was in my room and would go downstairs at dinner time you would jump out of the bed (if you were sleeping in the bedroom next door) and would quickly walk by my side and follow me into the kitchen like you knew it was time to eat. You would basically sit by us while we would all eat (yourself included) and you would be the height of the dinner table as we fed you on the cabinet behind the table because the dog had a habit of finishing your food if we kept your bowl on the floor. After that you then would go out for a few hours until you would return for more food and then maybe go outside again.

You will be missed Hector. The house seems horribly empty without your presence. You were only four and a half years old - that is far too young an age and I thought we would have had many more years of memories to enjoy.

You brought us many happy memories and I am very glad I have been able to capture many hilarious moments on film, although sadly I was not quick enough to film the incredible 360 degree somersaults you did on a couple of occasions when you were younger! And just when I thought I had captured enough unique moments you would do something else that I would have to just capture with the camera!

"Cats and Dogs Living Together"

I will miss you sitting on my comfortable computer chair beside me while I was on the computer and forced to sit on the less comfortable chair. I will miss waking up in the morning and seeing you lying on the bed in hilarious positions and looking like you were enjoying a well needed sleep. I will miss you jumping in front of my computer or walking over the newspaper I was trying to read when you wanted attention. I will miss you going a little hyper outside while you played with sticks, ran up trees or even tried to get the dogs attention by leaping out of a bush and attempting to catch him when he was running after the ball. I will miss hearing you loudly purr when I let you in from outside and you knew you were getting fed, or when you kneaded the blanket on the bed and of course when I petted you. I will miss going outside to the garden and you would come up to me rub against my legs and go on your way, as if you were just saying a quick hello before going on another adventure. I will miss your presence when watering the plants and you (along with the dog) would follow me around the garden and hilariously ran back and forth because you did not want to go anywhere near the running water when I filled up the Watering Can. 

Believe me, Hector, there will be many, many other hilarious and comforting moments I will also miss about you.