A TRIBUTE TO MILOHe was a very fine cat indeed. The best of cats. He lived with me more than 10 years and was my best friend, my baby.
He died on March 21, 2010, but he will always live on in my heart.

I adopted Milo on August 28, 1999, just 1 month after I moved to Chiangmai and 3 months after my wonderful mom passed away. I always knew Milo was God’s gift to me, a guardian angel of sorts. Born in Chiangmai, Milo was rescued from the (canine) jaws of death as a kitten and “fostered” by an Aussie family. Australian laws being what they are, the family decided it was too hard and too expensive to take their pets back home when they left and so they advertised in the Chiangmai Classifieds. I took Milo (who was about 3 years old at time) and his “sister” Champagne, a Siamese cat, home with me that night in August. A month later Champagne disappeared. I never knew what happened to her but always hoped she was taken by someone who would love her.

Milo was “just” a Thai cat. An orange tabby with a stub of a tail, not that he ever felt handicapped by the lack of it! He had the girth and personality of Garfield with an affectionate temperament and we bonded almost immediately. I remember being confined to bed after eating something that wasn’t right (!) and how Milo climbed under the covers and pushed up against me. His purring had a palliative effect and I realized this was a sensitive cat. Later on that first fall, I remember sitting on my sofa looking out on the rice field and crying softly, missing my mom. Milo was sitting beside me and when he looked up and saw my tears, he did a double take and moved right onto my lap.

So Many MemoriesI have so many memories of my furry orange little beast that I could never write them all. The ways he looked at me with those deep, deep eyes of his. How he loved to jump up into my arms (in later years he just asked to be picked up, but he always wanted to be hugged!) He was so cute the way he loomed vulture-like over the bag of Whiskas Temptations (kitty treats) until I took notice. If I didn’t, he would tap on the bag with his paw – pulling the “adorable card” he knew I couldn’t resist.

He had a few kitty friends over the years. A female Siamese also named Milo who lived next door (and who died just a week after my Milo!). She came to call every time she was in heat—hoping Milo would father her children. Alas, he wasn’t able. Another friend in our new neighborhood was Diego, a one-year old male Siamese. It was too cute how he came to the screen door and meowed. Milo was able to open the lightweight door with his paw and in he came. His visits ended abruptly the Monday morning he decided he wasn’t ready to leave and tried to escape by jumping on the hood above the stove. He fell, knocking over and breaking a bottle of red wine. He eventually moved to Holland. And then there was Calvin – a stray black & white kitten who lived with us just a few short months before he was hit by a car. He followed my very patient Milo everywhere he went, copying him as he groomed himself and snuggling up next to him for a nap. Milo took it in his stride when Calvin ducked in front of him at the food bowl.

Milo followed me around like a puppy dog. He slept on the bed. He napped on my lap when I sat reading in my LaZBoy chair. He finished the milk in my cereal bowl and always came running when I called. Okay, almost always. Once in a while he’d bring home a half dead mouse for me. He was healthy most of his life and made only a few trips to the vet, once for a few stitches after a bad fight with another cat and then a year ago on St. Pat’s day when he had to have a cast (bright green!) put on a broken foot – the result of another fight. Just protecting his territory, he was! All in all, I would have to say that he had a darn good life for a cat and was undoubtedly the most loved cat in all of Thailand.

Milo died of an infection that led to hepatitis. I buried him with the help of Allan Eubank, a long-time missionary to Thailand and a close friend. He is underneath a tree on their property, near two of their dogs who died a year ago.

Pets in Heaven?
To those of you who have never owned a pet, all this might seem a bit outre. But I know many of you understand the grief when you lose a beloved pet. Will I ever see Milo again? I don’t know. The Bible doesn’t say – but then again it doesn’t say I won’t and I’m hanging onto that! C.S. Lewis believed that animals “become themselves” through the love of their people and that because they are a part of us, they will be with us in the new heaven and new earth. There will be animals there – we know that. Jesus died to redeem not only mankind but all of his beautiful creation. That thought gives me great comfort.

Before I burst into tears I will close with this thought that I read a month or so ago: “When you come upon your cat, deep in meditation, staring thoughtfully at something that you can’t see, just remember that your cat is, in fact, running the universe.”