The Bulletin
Reprinted from The Bulletin #65, October 19, 2003



Doug and Raoul in 1996

Goodbye to an old Friend
In Loving Memory of Raoul, 1/89 to 10/03
by Doug

I first met my sweet and eccentric cat, Raoul, in 1990 as we were rescuing him from the animal shelter where he was doing time on "Death Row." He was a very wayward kitty, indeed, and his index card "biography" was checkered with words like "vagrancy" and "neglect." Someone had given him the less-than-inspired moniker of "January," which was promptly changed to "Raoul," after the word he kept yowling in the car all the way home from the shelter.

Raoul was a bit of snob. If he happened to catch a whiff of the "human food" I was eating, he would dry heave. I guess with a name like "Raoul," you should expect a cat to develop an attitude to fit the name.

Raoul was the only cat I have ever met that actually "petted himself." Everybody's cat will lick their paw and rub their head. Raoul would sit and make circular motions on his head with his paw (without licking his paw) and purr like mad.

Once we noticed Raoul was missing for a day, or so. After an extensive search of our property, we discovered His Highness snuggled up cozy under our sauna with a woodchuck! His nickname became "Woodchuck-lover" for a while after that. Oh well, I guess it might have been that French name again.

Raoul passed away in his sleep on my fortieth Birthday, ending a 13 year friendship and leaving a hole in my life that I will never even attempt to fill. He was a sweet cat, very affectionate and playful, even into his golden years. His Siamese brother, Loupe, and I will miss him very much.

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