So we were still getting over a bad case of "Holly's not here anymore" when something happened Saturday night.
Koda's schtick is that after he poo'd, he'd take off running as if it scared him; Mika did the same thing. As a part of our daily lives, we've accepted that Koda is going to poo and then tear off down the hall at 100mph, finishing his race car routine by jumping up on my desk. Saturday night was no different. I was sitting here listening to him come down the hall sounding like his usual fast moving stampede of velcro... but when he got in here he didn't jump up on my desk. I had headphones on but quickly took them off when I heard Jay say Koda's name in an oddly insistent fashion. I turned my head to see that as soon as he made it into the office, Koda had collapsed, eyes dilated, and was meowing a very loud, very long meow. My best guess... he was having a heart attack. Within just about a minute, he was gone.
We're still in shock. I sat there that night in complete disbelief that this had just happened. How could he be running down the hall at break-neck speeds, a happy, fairly healthy, bounding five year old... and then two minutes later be dead?! The only reason I can even begin to reconcile that in my head was that he had a heart murmur we were treating him for.
All three Siamese we've had had their own, very distinct personalities. From the moment Koda sauntered in the door we knew he was full of piss and vinegar. I called him "Mr. Stink", or "Stink-Face", or just "Stink", because he was just a little furry pack of mischief; a little stinker... but sweet as the day is long. Most of the mischief took place in the process of him figuring out how to get more attention or spend more time with us. But Stink did have a secret... he really did stink. A typical 'cat who hates water', he only ever tongue bathed and well, let's just say his breath wasn't minty fresh. I figured this out one night when I kiddingly called him Stinky and sniffed him. He apparently knew he was a little stank, was not very appreciative of being sniffed for it, and bit me on my chin... thus was born the "Sniff the Stink and see if you can avoid getting nipped on the chin for it" game. I used to sing "Smelly Cat" (From FRIENDS) to him frequently and will always think of him when I hear it.
Stink had other quirks, like figuring out how to open doors (or yelling outside of locked ones during recording sessions, ruining countless vocal takes) and... well, quite frankly he must've figured that if we pee'd in the white porcelain bowl, then he should too... so he almost always pee'd in the sink. Oh, it's not as gross as it sounds; it washed right down... it saved on litter cleaning and at least he wasn't crapping in it. He did have a period where he was peeing on the sofa and any bed you left him access to, so for most of his short life he was not allowed in the bedrooms without supervision, which meant he missed out on the sleeping-with-the-rents experience. I never did figure out why he did that.
**EDIT** SHOWER CURTAIN LICKER!!! How could I possibly have forgotten to mention that?! Koda's weirdest quirk was that as you walked into the bathroom to take a shower, he would lead you there, jump up on the side of the tub and incessantly lick the shower curtain. Why, just the other day I was laughing because while lick-lick-licking away he poked his head around the curtain to watch me bathe myself in wonderment. I thought he must be thinking I've gone mad to stand in the stream of water like that when just a sprinkle would send him scrambling. I guess if his thought processes were any where close to as human as they seemed to be, he was probably thinking, "damn, look at those jugs"... lol. God, what a little stink.
In 2006-2007, Koda was the star of several internet videos, in which Holly frequently appeared as supporting catress... appearing in everything from what was intended to be a series of instructional videos (but only two were made), to 2008 presidential campaign ads. He was also in a well received Catumentary about Frootbats (of which he was one, a term of endearment used by Siamonster-fans for their large eared pets). His internet video presence waned along with my interest in playing around with (very) amateur video editing.
So for right now I'm trying not to think about it. I'm not moving my feet forward so that I don't notice Koda's not curled up there sleeping. I'm not looking for him on the cat tree and trying not to worry about the fact that the bedroom door is hanging wide open and he could've pee'd on the bed. I can't let myself feel this yet... not now. Two months ago we had two younger, seemingly healthy cats, and now they're both gone. If I let myself feel it too much, the house will feel unbearably empty.
We will love and miss you Koda. Don't be too mad if Holly hadn't had a chance to finish orientation yet; if she couldn't meet you at the door I know Mika did.
