A few more pictures...

So it's been a bit of a rough week. I never realized just how present Riff was in our lives until now. He wasn't the typical aloof, indifferent cat... the kind who keeps to himself until he is forced to rely on the opposable thumbs of his human captors to open a door or pour food into a dish.

No, Riff was a "people cat." He always wanted to be where the people were. If we were sitting on the couch watching TV, he was curled up next to us. If I was cooking dinner, he was climbing on counters to inspect the produce or overseeing the culinary process from his favorite perch on top of the fridge. When it was time to work out and I did push-ups or planks, he would "help" me by standing underneath me so I couldn't collapse onto the floor. When I washed a load of towels or sheets, I would always dump the clean laundry onto the bed, and then wait a couple hours before I even attempted to fold anything -- because invariably, Riff would burrow into the pile and take a nap...

When we came back to the condo after being out for a while, Riff would be waiting for us just inside the door, greeting us with meows and happy tail twitches, as if seeing his humans was the best part of his day. We often wondered if he waited there for us when we were gone... did he lay on the carpet in the entryway eagerly anticipating our return? Or did he scurry over as soon as he heard the key in the lock?

But perhaps my favorite thing was that after I'd settled into bed for the night -- ten, fifteen, twenty minutes later -- Riff would jump up, snuggle up right against me, and spend the whole night keeping me company. This was especially comforting when Rick was out of town -- I never felt like I was alone in the condo, because my buddy Riff was always right there with me.

So it's been painfully obvious that Riff is gone. He followed me around like a shadow... but now, where my shadow should be, all there is is empty space. It's been strange, and sad, and very quiet... although to Piva's credit, she seems to be attempting to pick up some slack. She's been much more clingy this last week, and keeps loudly meowing at random times. She knows something has changed... I'm sure she misses Riff, too, even though she'd never admit it, because Riff had a tendency to antagonize her. :)

Anyway, I've been going through lots of pictures this week, so here are a few more:

Baby picture! :) This was a few days after Rick's sister found this little guy and gave him to us. To be honest, I wasn't even sure I WANTED another cat at the time... but it didn't take long for him to fit right in and become a part of the family.

About six months old... and probably trying to figure out how to get into trouble. I think I spent the entire first year of his life with perpetual scratch marks up and down my arms, because he LOVED to play... and he had very sharp claws. :) 

What, you don't have a cat in your fridge??

 This was one of his preferred ways of sleeping... he was actually quite comfortable like this...

Riff had a couple absolute FAVORITE toys... and he had the uncanny ability to swipe them across the slippery hardwood floor and directly under the refrigerator. He would then attempt to reach underneath the fridge to retrieve his toys... I can't even COUNT the number of times I had to pull out a flashlight and yard stick and fish out little rattling mice from the dark recesses of the Under Fridge.
  

This was the only time that Riff and Piva would sleep this close to each other: Towels. The great equalizers.

 And he loved hanging out in sinks...

  A lot...

What do you do with a Halloween pumpkin? Why, eat it, of course! :)

This guy made me smile EVERY single day. I could be completely depressed, having a horrible day, sad, angry, upset, whatever -- but every day, without fail, Riff would make me smile. Sometimes even laugh out loud. It's crazy how much I miss him -- I mean, he was "only" a cat -- but he really knew how to work his way into somebody's heart. If he only had five years to spend here, we were lucky that those five years were with us...