The final page of a long chapter

Nero passed away in the wee hours of this morning.

His passing marked the end of a long chapter in my life.

I got him when he was about 8 weeks old, abused and frightened - spitting, clawing and nothing at all like what I imagined a kitten would be. I got him from my gf Tina, who was doing a lot of cat rescue work. He was hauled out of a drain in Kim Keat, after the rain. She had to lift her bed to get to him. He was the first cat I ever had. Tina was skeptical but she had too many to actually care for him, the way he needed to be cared for. He was untrusting and certainly wasn't going to do well in a multi-cat household - and I was inexperienced and not the best person to work with him. But I decided to give it a shot, because I had no other pets and I would be able to focus on his needs and work with him.

That was the start of my involvement with strays. At my busiest, I had 8 cats - of my own - they all passed on before Nero - of some illness or other - some I got when they were already old and so, although they lived long, they were never with me that long. All my maids couldn't handle him - he didn't allow anyone to carry him, hold him or handle him. He was the king. I was the only one who could medicate him and basically, handle him. He only recognised me as the person he trusted. He lived for 17 years and no one could do that, not even my maid of 5 years, especially if he's irked about something and needed to be handled.

I used to bring him everywhere, in my little duffle bag, when he was a kitten, just so he wouldn't be so afraid of the world. Even when my son was born, he was there but never gave trouble. But when I brought a stray home, he would charge at it...he was good with kittens though....always have been. Perhaps he knew that kittens needed assurances - like him when he was that tiny....but he never got it from the public...

Today, he closed a long chapter in my life. He started his life with me, as I started mine on this equation. As my book with my ex closes - Nero chose to leave - it's like he knew, I got it settled finally and he could rest now. It's sad because that alone made him truly my pet. When I spoke to him last night, he softly mewed. I told him, to go...because he shouldn't suffer and that I'll be fine, because I finally sorted things out for me.

I told him mummy loves him, always have - and that he will always be a huge part of my life that no one could take away, because he allowed me to share his life.