Recently we lost a member of our team, our beloved little mascot and friend, Caesar. He was our constant companion and we like to think he lived a pretty good life as a minimalist cat.

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Caesar was born in a barn in Lubbock, Texas in 2002 to a momma cat named Patches. Patches lived a long life herself, passing just last year at the age of 21, still living in the same barn and enjoying annual visits with Angie (who always kept her updated on Caesar, of course).

I first met Caesar a few months after Angie and I started dating. At the time, he lived mostly under her bed, afraid of her roommates’ Great Dane (who was friendly to people but hated cats!). The first thing Caesar did was bite me, so I did the most logical thing I could think of at the time – I picked him up and hugged him. After that, we were inseparable friends.

When we all moved in together, Caesar took to sleeping on my head while kneading my hair like bread dough. I’m not going to lie, it was annoying, but he was happy and I eventually learned to live with his odd behavior. On mornings when I’d wake up with my hair all a mess, I’d just say, “Don’t ask me, ask my hairstylist. He worked all night on this masterpiece!”

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In the mornings, Caesar enjoyed nothing more than laying in Angie’s lap while she read. He seemed to love fiction the best and often turned the pages of a James Patterson novel more quickly than Angie could read it herself.

Though born in a barn, Caesar became quite the cultured kitty. He always wore his finest tuxedo and loved to lounge luxuriously about on the patio. Camping was never his thing, though he did give it a shot for 3 months.

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Caesar was also quite the talker. We carried on conversations with him daily about all sorts of things, and yes, we sometimes argued. He could say “hello” and “now” just as clearly as a small child, which also made it very easy for our little niece to communicate with him. They were the best of friends, and he would often look for her after she had gone home from a weekend visit.

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Caesar was a foodie too. He loved strawberries and whipped cream, cauliflower, mushrooms, veggie burgers, and apples. Okay, mostly he just loved sharing meals with us, which is something he did several times a day. Just a few weeks before Christmas, he made off with about 1/3 of a Beyond Burger from my plate. He did not want to give it back!

Lest you think Caesars life was all fun and games, I should mention that he was also a very hard worker. Um…maybe supervisor is a better word. He was always monitoring our work.

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Caesar was more than just a cat, he was our friend, and we are so glad to have shared a life with him.