Sandman

I’ve lost two friends to cancer in the last week.

The first was Erick Wujcik, and the second my companion of 17 years, the cat named Sandman.

Though his black-and-white coloration might make it seem obvious, he wasn’t named after the Neil Gaiman character. He acquired the name Sandman because, as a kitten, he did very little but sleep. I had thought that kittens were compulsively active, but not this one.

Sandman was a one-man cat. He’d follow me around the house to keep me under observation; he’d snarl if other cats got near me; and when I was away, he’d guard my office to keep others— particularly other cats— away.

In this photo, he’s giving me a new hairstyle.

Sandman fell ill when I was away at Rio Hondo— a little over three weeks ago. He was seriously losing weight— two pounds since the previous visit to the vet. After a trip to the vet, I got some meds, which produced a temporary improvement.

By yesterday, he’d lost another two pounds. He had very little energy and didn’t eat. I was teaching Taos Toolbox, so our wonderful housesitter Nan took him to the vet and received the news that he had a large, cancerous mass in his abdomen.

I left the workshop so that I’d be with him when we put him to sleep. All praise to the Toolies: they were very forgiving.

At least his illness was brief.