Let's hear it for Clark!

Who's Clark, you ask? This guy:

If you were on the team last year, you might remember the shirt I occasionally wore to practice that features Clark and his feline pals Lewis and Scruffy ("Scruffster"). This shirt was a gift from my girlfriend Jodi, and it quickly became one of my favorite items of clothing. 

Perhaps you recognize Clark from YOUR version of this shirt, i.e. the one that some members of the 2021 team acquired near the end of the season:

Thanks to Grace for unknowingly posing for this photo. I took the picture surreptitiously because I didn't want anyone to know how flabbergasted I was that you had these things made in the first place.

Sadly, we lost Clark late in December of 2021. Unbeknownst to us he had an underlying heart condition which was undetectable for years before it eventually showed up in an x-ray. This condition led to congestive heart failure. Jodi and I have learned more about this condition in cats than we ever wanted to know. We adopted Clark and his shelter buddy Lewis in July of 2016. He was around 3 years old when we got him. That's an educated guess as he was a stray prior to that. Scruffy joined the family a year later.

It's definitely still okay to wear your "Real Men Love Cats" shirt if you got one last fall. When I told Jodi about the shirts the team got last season, she said they were "the greatest thing ever." She also insisted on photographic evidence (thanks again, Grace). In honor of Clark, I'll be donating a dollar to Guardian Angels Cat Rescue each time the Real Men Love Cats shirt, or any shirt featuring cats, is worn this season by anyone on the team. Guardian Angels is the organization from which we adopted Clark and Lewis, and it's based in Wayland.

Here are some pictures of Clark:

Clark checks out the laser pointer while Lewis looks on. This was taken the day we adopted them.

 

click to enlarge for Lewis' (not Louis) and Clark's backstories

Lewis liked to use Clark as a pillow sometimes

Don't let the adorable picture fool you. These two did their fair share of rough housing which was gloriously entertaining to watch. Clark was terrible at fighting. His main strategy was pretending he had given up, then nonchalantly walking around to Lewis' backside and trying to bite him there. It never ever worked.  

 nibbling on kitty grass

 

Like all cats Clark was very good at sleeping

 

Very, very good at sleeping...

 

Before we adopted Clark he was a stray on the streets of Framingham. Because he was friendly (i.e. not feral) it's likely he was either a lost or abandoned pet. We kept him inside but to let him experience a bit of the outdoor life we set up a "catio." In reality this is an enclosure designed to protect plants from birds, deer and other varmints. In the catio he could soak up some sun, roll in the grass, smell the smells, watch nearby birds and squirrels, and have lunch al fresco. We tried a harness and leash first, but to say he didn't take to it would be a massive understatement. The catio on the other hand was a hit:

 

 

We have a trail camera in our back yard to check on the comings and goings of wildlife. Mostly we get pictures of what's raiding the bird feeders. One day last summer while I was taking Clark back inside from the catio I stopped for a quick candid shot:

Clark was affectionate on his own terms and enjoyed getting pets and cheek strokes quite a lot. He did NOT like being picked up, held, or carried and I think this picture reflects that fact. 

In addition to sleeping, Clark liked to eat. He was a connoisseur of both dry and wet food, but of course preferred the wet stuff--"kitty ice cream." One way or the other he would let you know when it was mealtime, sometimes by waiting patiently by the bowl. Often he would be quite vocal as well. 

 

We have many fond memories of Clark. One of my fondest memories is from last summer. Clark and I got in a routine where he would wait for me most nights at the bedroom door. Upon seeing me he would get up, trot across the floor, jump up on the bed and lie down next to my pillow in front of a window with a fan in it. He laid there with the breeze from the fan on his face while I was next to him on the bed petting him. He purred loud as a chainsaw and made biscuits to express his pleasure. Moments like this make having a pet worthwhile--the emotional connection and shared happiness. Time with our pets is finite, the memories last forever.

We had planned on having Clark in our lives for many more years but it wasn't to be. While we lost Clark far sooner than expected, we're forever happy and grateful he was in our lives for the time that we had him. We loved him very much. He was a great cat.