Got a phone message from Barb that Poose has died. She was a pretty old kitty, I think 17 or 18 years old, and she's been the cranky old lady for a few years now. Her kidneys pretty much gave out; she's been having problems with them for a while, and she died before Barb could get her into the vet again.

I lived with Poose for something like 13 of those years. We had some games that only Poose and I would play, including a particular flavor of tetherball which used to make her laugh-- and if you've ever seen a cat laugh, you know what I mean.

When Barb and I split up, the division of the pets was uncontested. Poose was always Barb's cat, and Dorky went with her as well-- I kept Micha and Sadie, as they gravitated toward me.

I'm sad for Poose, and for Barb.