In early 2017, we moved into our house after a renovation that started when we got the keys back in November 2016. By July, after a holiday in Paris, we decided to get a cat. We found someone giving away kittens and planned to take a small Calico we named Eevee. However, when we went to pick her up, they told us her brother, Kamino, also needed a home. The family who’d planned to take him had backed out last minute. He was originally called “Stuart”, he was grey and white, with grumpy eyes that we found unbelievebly cute! After a quick phone call, we decided to take him too, and just like that, our little family grew.
Kamino and Eevee were only about 8 weeks old when they came home with us and full of energy. They ran around our unfinished house, clattering across the floor. We loved them both instantly.
As they grew, Kamino began to show his mischievous side. He caused chaos in the middle of the night, pulling down curtains, knocking things over, and meowing at the door keeping us awake. He developed a weird habit of jumping at the wall, like he was obsessed with with the tiny plaster bumps. He’d crouch and focus, then leap up flipping about like a little acrobat.
In March the following year, we started letting them both outside, only during the day initially. Kamino loved the freedom.
He had an obsession with cardboard boxes… Whenever one was left out he’d instantly claim it, no matter how small.
His relationship with Eevee was love/hate. They often scrapped and it was usually initiated by Kamino. But there were loving moments too, they sometimes curled up together in the cat bed to sleep or Eevee would clean Kamino every now and then.
He was a very entertaining cat. He’d bat Christmas baubles around the room no matter the time of year and loved sprawling out in the sun. One night, he went missing and we discovered he’d gotten stuck in a neighbor’s garage. I remember walking around in the cold, searching and stressing, then finally sleeping downstairs on the couch, waiting for him to come home. He eventually returned and began meowing for food straight away, as if nothing had happened.
As the years passed, Kamino mellowed out. He spent more time inside chilling. He would blink slowly at me - which is apparently a cat’s way of showing trust. If you were lucky, he would even come and sit on your lap, something he didn’t really ever do as a young cat.
When our first child came along in summer 2021, the cats took a backseat for a while. Kamino didn’t seem to mind though. By the time our second arrived, he and Eevee were returning to their old routines, spending more time with us again and even happily interacting with the kids. Kamino took his usual spot on the corner of the couch, just like he did in when he was a kitten. At night, he’d patiently sit by the cupboard where the cat food was, waiting for his food before bed. In the winter he would sleep in the cat bed with Eevee which was really nice to see.
Yesterday morning, there was a knock at the door at 7am. A man from the animal care unit gave me Kamino’s collar. He’d been hit by a car on the road just a minute away from our house. His body was still warm… his winter fur still fluffy. But he was gone.
Kamino was with us for seven and a half years. He was a constant presence in our lives. We wanted him to grow old with us, and to be here for many more years. I know it’s cliche, but he was more than a pet, he was part of our family. We will miss him so much.
