We had to let go of WALDO OPSAL on Sunday. Perhaps the most photographed and video’d cat of all time. Lisa and I got to spend 17 years with him, he saw us through many big life events, including the cross-country road trip from NYC to LA where he quickly sprawled out on the dashboard and soaked in the sun the whole way. He was an indoor cat, but had an adventurous heart and managed to escape a dozen times, once in NYC where I chased him across streets, past cars and motorcycles and construction sites, he tried to climb the brick wall of our building like Spiderman trying to get to our patio. He ran around the hills of LA, evading coyotes and hawks, probably befriending racoons and breaking the hearts of some hot skunks. But he always came back, happy as ever, naive to the dangers around him and ready to slurp up a tuna and shrimp squeeze tube and snuggle up on our laps like it was no big deal. The day we moved into our house, he went missing and we were convinced he had scurried up our chimney (as we now know he can climb brick), we fully mourned the loss of him until the movers left for the day and a bathroom drawer popped open on its own, he had been hiding BEHIND the back of the closed drawer. In his final week, he slipped out one last time, I went looking for him, my mind racing with fears of what could have happened to him, then I saw him from a distance, peacefully sniffing plants and watching birds. As hard as it was, I let him have his moment and trusted that he would come home when he was ready. And eventually, he did.
As much as we always wanted to protect him, I’m grateful that he had the chance to slip outside and live these grand adventures on his own. We can rest easy knowing he lived a full life.
