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Things have been moving slowly this week, and I’m sorry about that. Unfortunately, my cat became progressively ill over the course of the week and eventually passed away peacefully. It’s truly heartbreaking when your pet dies, like losing a member of the family. Because I work from home, he was always there by my side or sitting on my lap, and I’m going to miss him dearly. Not hearing his footsteps or feeling his quiet presence around me is going to take some getting used to.

He was a cat with a story. We had him since he was a kitten, and he had such a friendly demeanour even from the earliest days. Some cats can be standoffish and independent, but not JJ, he was so trusting and loving. At one point, some people actually stole him because he was such a beautiful long-haired cat. My wife and I never gave up looking for him, and one day we saw a picture of him on a stray cats page on Facebook. We couldn’t believe it. When we finally tracked him down, he looked terrible, absolutely feral. But after a moment, he realised who we were and wouldn’t get off my chest. It was like one of those videos you see online when a dog finally sees his owner again. We couldn’t believe it.

So he had his couple of years in the wilds, and then he was finally back home with us. He saw so much, from us buying our first home to the birth of our daughter, Rose.

I buried him a couple of days ago and raised a stone over his grave in honour. He deserved no less. You were the best boy. Rest in peace, JJ.