Charlie

August 2011 - January 2026

Charlie was the long promised first pet for a family with a little girl whose first word was ‘kitty’. A slight boy with a massive personality, he lived up to every expectation of what a cat should be. He was curious, mischievous, and stubborn. He ate anything that wasn’t locked away and picked fights with stray cats twice his size (over and over, often losing).

He strutted through the streets of the West End like he owned every inch, climbing fences and stretching out on garage rooftops. He never hesitated to go after what he wanted, once strolling over to a stranger and attacking their grocery bag, trying to get at a rotisserie chicken. In his older years, when his family had matured enough to realize that letting him roam was never safe or appropriate, he cried day and night for time in his backyard catio, where he took turns relaxing and anxiously surveying his territory for threats. In his last year, he took to taking walks on a leash, bringing delight to neighbours who had never seen a cat with such a content, determined stroll.

He was also incredibly sweet and the easiest to handle cat. I don’t think a single vet or vet tech that cared for him (and boy, there were many over the years) failed to comment on how well behaved he was. He was peaceful when picked up, and happy to cuddle up beside his humans. He had a gift for recognizing when they needed love, and although his purr wasn’t the loudest, it was very healing and always appreciated.

As a big brother, first to one, then two, then three, and finally four feline stepsisters, he grew from being reluctant, jealous even, to nurturing. We adopted Lila when he was young, and he let us know he wasn’t thrilled by going to the bathroom beside the litter box instead of in it. He never went back. He was much more accepting of Gertie, who came along when he was around six. At nine, one night we opened the door to let him inside, and in with him he brought a scared, starving kitten, who became our Alley. Alley was his little buddy, and he treated her with a patience and kindness we never knew he could have for another cat. She followed him around constantly, zooming back and forth with him upstairs. But after a few years, as Charlie aged and developed arthritis, their zooms together slowed.

Around the time we adopted his youngest sister Mars, it became clear Charlie had entered another stage of life. He had been through a few bouts of illness that were tough to nail down the cause of, and a few recoveries. He bounced back from a successful dental in spring and we were happy to give him all the joys of summer, though he struggled to tolerate the heat. By winter, he was struggling to tolerate most of everything, and the waves of illness kept coming without the same recoveries. Georgia -- the little girl whose first word was ‘kitty’ -- was now a grown up. She helped her mother Megan make the most difficult decision to let him rest.

We are so grateful to everyone who loved Charlie along with us over the years, including Joe and former roommates Laura, Vassan, and Perry, his regular vet Dr. Cam Nichol, and his regular back up vets at the Pembina Animal ER. Thank you to Dr. Liz for making Charlie’s last morning as comfortable as possible, and for treating the moment with such dignity and care.

We’ll end with Georgia’s words of goodbye: ‘Rest peacefully, King of the Alleyways'