LAPCPADPOUB Day** Updated

When I saw that Zanthan Gardens had "a momentary lapse into cuteness," I knew I had to participate in The Inelegant Gardener's LAPCPADPOUB (Let's all post cat photos and dire poetry on our blogs) day. The cat and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary this month, and he deserves a mention after so many more mentions of the dog, otherwise known as the animal ruining the cat's golden years.

And his name is an English phrase--Cheerio. He's actually named after the cereal; in his younger days he had white O's on his sides.

I have cuter pictures of him, but this one shows him the farthest he's been out in the backyard in years. He's actually on top of table, next to a bottle of Superthrive, for you eagle eye gardeners.

A few years ago I found out from the neighbors across the street that he used to cross the street, jump their fence, and roll around in their catmint. Luckily, they found his trampling of their herbs funny. I didn't know he did this, and it took the neighbors a while to realize he was ours. He rarely went outside and even more rarely left the yard so the neighbors had never seen him in our yard, just theirs.

I guess I could grow some catmint or catnip for him on this side of the street, but if you've ever seen a cat coming off a catnip high, you'd know why I don't want to feed that habit.

I don't really have a poem, but I guess I have something dire. The cat and I may be celebrating 10 years together, but he's much older--somewhere between 15 and 19 years old according to the vet. He's now deaf, doesn't eat much, and has slow kidney failure. This might be his last LAPCPADPOUB Day but even if it is, he's had a good life with me.

Even if I do exploit him shamelessly for a blog post.

**After a long, good life, Cheerio Maceo Orangina (c. 1990-2008) passed on to the great litter box in the sky on Sunday, October 26.

Meow, meow, Cheerio. Meow, meow.