Jeff's cat Chilo passed away suddenly last night so this post goes out to him. The enclosed photo is of Chilo (see giant fluffy Kitteh in the above photo), Jeff and Max (or, as I like to call him, "Maxi-Pad" due to his love for the all night Chilo cat-box buffet) lounging.
I feel fortunate for having known Chilo his whole life. Jeff really wanted a cat, this is back when we worked at American Express Financial Advisors (now "Ameriprise") and I was working Corporate Communications (a slow and painful death) and in charge of our intranet classified ads. Knowing Jeff wanted a cat, I forwarded the few ads we had for Kittehs, one that caught Jeff's eye was an adult cat named Chilo. Unfortunately, that cat got snatched-up sooner than Jeff could apply, but then an ad for kittens came up. He jumped at it. We drove out to some rural Mn locale and met the kittehs. Jeff chose this beautiful male kitteh, the offspring of an escaped house cat who got impregnated by the local stray and the name Chilo stuck.
As soon as we started driving home Chilo was climbing all over my car, letting-out his familiar "eehh oww" (that cat's meow was truly unique). From then on we realized Chilo operated by his own set of rules, never to bend to the wishes of others. He was half wild-cat and despite his beauty (and his pale nose) he would never be fully tamed.
True, me and Chilo had our "issues" stemming mainly from his desire to claw my face or bite my top lip, I still looked forward to seeing him (and, truth be told, teasing him) every time I went home. That "little bastard" as both me and Jeff commonly called him, will be missed. A funny aside, even when he was gravely ill, moments before he passed-away he still managed to stick one last claw into Jeff, remaining fiesty until the end.
My favorite Chilo song is below (sing along, if you will):
Written by: neil diamond
Young child with dreams
Dream, ev'ry dream on your own
When children play
Seems like you end up alone
Papa says he'd love to be with you
If he had the time
So you turn to the only friend you can find
There in your mind
Chilo, when i was young
I used to call your name
When no one else would come
Chile, you always came
And we'd play
Young girl with fire
Something said she understood
I wanted to fly
She made me feel like i could
Held out my hand, and i let her take me
Blind as a child
All i saw was the way that she made me smile
She made me smile
Chilo, when i was young
I used to call your name
When no one else would come
Chile, you always came
And you'd stay
Had a dream, and it filled me with wonder
She had other plans
"got to go, and i know you'll understand"
I understand
Chilo, when i was young
I used to call your name
When no one else would come
Chilo, you always came
Come today
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