By now I should’ve posted the Psycho Bunny sketch of The Week. Unfortunately, something tragic happened over the past weekend.
On Sunday, June 16, 2019, between 2:30-2:35pm, my cat Squeaky, who I based my latest comic The Temptation of Squeaky dropped her body. Our guess being she was around 19 years old in cat years.
Supposedly Squeaky was born in Salem, Massachusetts, then brought to The Bronx, New York. Her first human ended up moving back to Massachusetts, abandoning Squeaky in the process. A former friend took her in. At the time he was also bouncing around from home to home until he met his partner. Those two ended up adopting more cats, dogs, and reptiles. By the time we took Squeaky in, the two humans ended up with ten cats. Squeaky got lost in the shuffle. She spent the majority of her time hiding behind the apartment radiator.
The final straw was when the human decided to bring in a cat of the Turkish Van breed. The kitten would bully her, giving the red light for the other cats to gang up on her. Squeaky couldn’t eat or use the litter box without being beat up by the other felines. In desperation, Squeaky dug a hole in the couch to do her business. That was the final straw for the human’s partner. A few days later, I received a call from this human, asking if I could take Squeaky in. The other option was to bring Squeaky to an animal shelter. Instinctively I knew if Squeaky was dropped off at a shelter, she was going to die. When Squeaky came to live with us, we were told she was six.
The vet guessed she was between six and eight in cat years.
Squeaky turned out to be not only extremely smart, but also affectionate. She was loyal, unless someone else had dinner scraps. During her ten years living with us, she became your TV buddy, a muse, a Joy Division fan (one time I played the Closer album. She curled around the speakers, closed her eyes in contentment, and purred as the music played. No lie.), a U.S. Presidental candidate, mouse exterminator, an art supply thief (she was also once accused of stealing my King Crimson CD. The CD was discovered in a pile of stashed drawing pens) and a member of The Church of The Subgenius. Someone outright offered to pay for Squeaky’s Subgenius membership. Upon enrollment, she was known as Rev. Squeaky Squeakums. Hail Squeaky!
Her final role was as the basis for my latest comic, The Temptation of Squeaky. At least she lived to see her likeness in print. Now she’s immortalized.
Pet grief is very real. Now that she’s gone, the apartment is unusually quiet. Gone is the constant nagging of food as she followed me around the place. Despite being fed an hour ago. As I walk into my bedroom, there’s no longer a whoosh sound of a cat jumping on the bed to receive constant adoration. Her favorite cardboard shoe box is empty. With Squeaky’s passing, there’s a sad void. Her feline roommate, Netzach Wondercat, aka Nettie has also been mum. Even the turtle MeeShee Gamera has been affected. With Squeaky gone, there’s been a void.
In her honor, I will continue doing the Squeaky comic. It’ll just have a different ending. Wrapping up this tribute post, I’ve included a sketch of Squeaky with her demon buddy Maximus walking off into the woods, perhaps the afterlife.
Other Squeaky Links:
https://benjaminherman.wordpress.com/2014/12/10/squeaky-the-stressed-out-cat/
https://benjaminherman.wordpress.com/2012/04/14/two-cats-and-a-turtle-part-two/
https://www.facebook.com/SqueakySqueakumsForUsPresident
Check back for future posts, including reviews of Cradle Con 2019 & IncrediCon 2019. Killing Joke live in concert. Also reports about It Came From The Radio podcast/The Grindhouse Radio interview. Next week we’ll return with the latest Psycho Bunny sketch of the week.
Michele Witchipoo – Social media:
Facebook: pages for Psycho Bunny and for Michele Witchipoo – WitchesBrewPress.
Twitter: One account for me, and one for Psycho Bunny.
Tumblr: World Ov Witchipoo
Instagram: there’s WitchipooArt.
Going to promote my RedBubble shop again.
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Sorry – R.I.P.!
Thank you. Squeaky was more than a cat. She was your best friend. Squeaky was kind of quirky, but that was made her unique. A misfit among cats, but she was my misfit cat. However, she lives on in my comics. Thank you once again for your kind thoughts.