One summer afternoon about 20 years ago, I sat in a stranger’s living room and watched as Lauren sorted through a litter of free kittens. She lifted a small tabby no larger than a tangerine, kissed his head and declared him perfect.

We brought him home to our small apartment and named him Cajun. We were tired graduate students testing our relationship with a first pet.

The three of us grew up together over the next two decades. We experienced a lot –– marriage, new homes, new jobs, new friends, many good times, some bad times.

Cajun’s life was one of leisure. His days were spent napping on sunny patios or beside roaring fireplaces.

His vet called him her handsome man, and once showed us how she could make his heart flutter on an ultrasound by kissing his nose.

And as it goes, time is something there is never enough of. So on a drizzly, unfair January morning, we held Cajun one last time, gave him thanks, and watched as he slipped away to wherever legends go to be missed.

This I know for sure –– we will always miss him.

Special thank you to both the Cat Hospital of Austin and Austin Vet Care for their love of Cajun over the years.