Azure

Azure, our spunky, lovable indoor cat, snuck out as we left the house for family home evening on Monday. It wasn’t until we were going to bed that we realized that she was gone. We looked for her around the apartment complex several times over the next two days without success. On Thursday morning, I printed some lost cat flyers to put up. However, we never got a chance to put them up. When Tara was driving home she saw a cat on the road that had been hit by a car. Our worst fears were confirmed. We'd lost our little buddy.

I imagine most people would say, "oh well, it was just a cat. Go get a new one." That's probably what I would've said before she joined our family, but she showed me that animals actually have unique personalities. Her passing has caused us a surprising amount of grief. Once she was gone, I realized what a loving, great friend she really was. Knowing that Christ "saves all the works of his hands"(D&C 76:43) really brings me comfort. The following is a short list of my memories of her:
• Licking the faucet, despite my attempts to dissuade her
• Softly biting Tara whenever she’d sing, or play the keyboard, since she found the sound annoying
• Smart. She could open up drawers, and removed Tara’s hair ties and would deposit them under the scale and bat them around. She also loved milk jug rings.
• Chasing Mira around the house, since she considered herself the boss. She’d often race up the cat tree and play king of the hill up there with Mira.
• Sneaking out the door whenever she got a chance, and then rolling around on the concrete, scratching her back
• String cheese! She’d run up whenever she heard us open up a package of string cheese and wait patiently for us to rip off pieces for her. Mira, our other cat, could care less about string cheese.

• Fearless, despite her small size (7-8 lbs.), she wasn’t afraid of anything. If I’d pretend to smack at her, she’d stand her ground and swat back at me. I’m convinced she thought she could take me. Our other cat, Mira is scared of everything and everyone.
• Lying on her back. She’d fall asleep that way. Another sign of her fearlessness.
• She loved to open up Aria’s clothes drawers and would carry her clothes in her mouth and deposit them around the house.
• Sleeping in all Aria’s baby seats.

• Neurotic. When she was done in the litterbox, she’d keep wiping her paws on the side, but they’d never be clean enough, so she’d keep wiping.
• Outgoing, never hid when guests came over, unlike Mira, who would growl when the door bell rang and would quickly slink away

I’m glad Tara has been writing a book about Azure and Mira. Now that Azure’s gone, Tara has renewed motivation to finish it. The ending of their tale has come, so we know what to chronicle.
I’ll miss her. Till we meet again, dear friend.