Peter (black), 1994? — 2009

Peter was a pretty typical neutered tom: totally unflappable, sweet and gentle, but not overly endowed with personality or brains. He did have a couple of charming quirks, though.

One, he used to go for walks with us. Many mornings he walked with me and the kids up to school, two and a half blocks, often trotting right behind us in the center of the sidewalk. When I came out of the building afterwards, he’d be there waiting, and together we would walk back home. One time he accompanied us to the playground and actually followed the kids up into a great big wooden play structure.

Two, I’ve never known a kitty who enjoyed the company of other cats as much as Peter seemed to. He had no concept of boundaries or territory at all. When we lived on a little alley where houses were very close together and everyone had cats, he was perfectly happy to hang out with them. One cat in particular used to spend a lot of time on our porch and often we’d see the two of them sitting near each other, looking nonchalant but clearly enjoying each other’s presence. Later he made friends with a cat who lived across the field from us. He’d make his way across the field whenever he saw her, and he’d follow her around like a puppy.

He died peacefully, and we are grateful to Bill and Kelly for their loving care.