Our Boy Named Eugina

Eugina was born almost 2 years ago. His Mother disappeared shortly after giving birth, leaving us to hand feed him. Later, after discovering Eugina was a boy we tried changing his name to Eugine, but somehow it just didn't fit. Eugina, as a kitten, was a barrel of laughs. He would often climb in the most inconspicuous hiding places, and playfully attack us as we walked by. He loved the outdoor life, chasing birds and chasing squirrels. Often times we would see him crouched low to the ground, his tail still and stiff, stalking and preying on a nearby bird feeding from the ground, but to our knowledge he never killed our wildlife friends.

Eugina was every bodies cat. He walked with me through my daily walks in the woods. Sometimes, he would run ahead of me, other times he walked along my side. He would wait patiently as I stopped to photograph some nearby nature. He would walk along downed pine trees, and sit with me for a little rest as I listened to the peace and quietness only nature can bring.

He would join my husband in the shed, and watch him tinker with all his manly toys. He would twist around his legs, weaving his tail in and out, purring loudly till my husband acknowledged his presence. He would often aggravate him, by pushing his head against his hand as he tried screwing something together with a screwdriver. A slight push away, and a few cuss words never fazed Eugina, he continued till my husband scratched his head. Satisfied, hed lay down nearby and watch him curiously.

He didn't have a certain human he liked to sleep with. He divided his time among us all. Some nights, you might would find him curled at the foot of the bed, while my 16 year old daughter was texting and doing homework all at the same time. Other times you might would find him, sleeping above my 14 year old daughters head, sharing the same pillow. He would often curl up in my husbands lap as he stretched back in his recliner. I always knew when Eugina climbed on my bed for a midnight nap. His purrs were always so much louder than the other cats.

Eugina, loved mice and was a great mouse hunter. We laughed one day as we watched him catch 5 in a row near the chicken pen. Another time, we saw him walking up from the woods with a field rat in his mouth as big as he. With Eugina around, no mouse was safe.

While Eugina stalked the wild birds, he never bothered my husbands cockatiels and parrot. In the evening my husband would let the birds out of their cages to explore the shed. Eugina knew they were part of the family and he never bothered them. Sometimes we would catch Winston, my husbands cockatiel, perched on top of Eugina as he was sleeping.

Eugina, was a protector to all our animals dogs, cats, and birds, as well as us humans. He would keep the mice population down. He would curl up against Stella, my American Bulldog, during one of his many cat naps. When Stella got sick one time, Eugina laid by her side all day and night till she started feeling better. He never seemed to mind, Stella's slobbering, long tongue as she licked him and cleaned him as if he were her young.

When one of our other cats Pirate, was stuck in the tree for 6 days. Eugina became disgusted with our many attempts of trying to get her down. He watched us day after day as we tried endlessly to no avail. He would sit back on the pic nic table, and watch us climb the tree, and offer her can salmon and tuna to try and bribe her down. He sat silently laughing at the many stupid attempts we made trying to rescue her. Disgusted with our silly stupidity, he jumped from the pic nic table, to the tree, and climbed all the way to the very tip top. He jumped branch to branch as he often watched the squirrels do, and he tip toed as if walking a tight wire, all the way to Pirate. He touched noses with her, meowed several times, then scooted back down the tree. Midways down, he turned and looked up at her, and meowed loudly as if he was saying "that's how its done, you idiot". When Pirate finally came down by herself, 6 days later, Eugina sniffed her from head to toe making sure she was ok. He followed her in the house and watched as she gorged on a whole can of salmon. He sat and waited patiently for the left overs.

Friday morning, after I got out of bed. I saw Eugina laying on the window sill. I opened the window to let him in as I have done every morning for the past 2 years. He looked as if he were asleep, but when he turned to the sound of the window opening, he didn't look like Eugina. He scared the living hell out of me. He scared me so bad, that I slammed the window shut because I didnt think it was him. Then I realized, it was Eugina and something was terribly wrong. His jaw hung open exposing his white sharp teeth. His green eyes were crossed with a white film over them. My youngest daughter ran outside to get him off the window ledge, cradling him gently in her arms.

We had assumed Eugina had been hit by a car, but later learned he was hit by a blunt object, whether a bat, a hammer, or with a foot from a swift hard kick. With Eugina's jaw broken we fed and gave him water through a straw and syringes. I gave him a warm bedding to sleep in, and told him stories during the evenings. I stroked his back, I kissed his little head gently. I whispered "I love You" in his ear and offered him comfort and courage. Yesterday morning, Eugina became to weak. He could no longer battle his injury.

Yesterday morning we laid to rest, our boy named Eugina.