Our darling Willie died, suddenly, last week. As I’d mentioned in the post about the brother kitties, he’d had kidney problems in the past. It came roaring back, and within days, he went into renal failure and was gone quickly. I still can’t quite deal with it, honestly. It’s all too much, and I’m beyond heartbroken. 

But you know who’s having the hardest time of all? 

Waylon. 

Waylon is the most loving cat we’ve ever met. He loves to be held upside like a baby and have his head smooshed. He is the opposite of an aloof cat–he comes the instant he’s called. He’s desperate to to cuddle with someone, anyone, every minute of every day. 

Waylon and his dog, Clementine

Waylon is heartbroken. 

His favorite dog died a month ago. 

His littermate brother, the one he’d cuddled for 14 years, died last week. 

Making it worse, Dozy, our last dog, refuses to cuddle with him, getting up and moving every time Waylon tries to sneak up on her in a canoodle attack. 

Waylon: “Wut? I cuddle!” Dozy: “NO EFF YOU VERY MUCH.”

Waylon cries all the time. (He’s always been a VERY vocal cat, yelling when he’s not actively cuddling, but now…) 

We keep wondering if we should just take him with us to New Zealand, but he’s 14, and that would be a 24-hour journey plus two weeks in a cage in quarantine with no cuddles at all. He might not be strong enough to make it, due to his age (though he’s a tough guy and has never had a single health issue except his allergies which make his elbows go bare).

We can’t bear to imagine him crying in a cage, alone for two weeks straight. 

My dog.

We need to find a perfect home for him. 

Ideally, Waylon’s new home would: Have other dogs or cats or both who love snuggle time. (Okay, it doesn’t really matter if they love it. If they’ll stay in place and tolerate cuddles, that’s enough for him.) Or: have a person at home most of the time who wants to snuggle a lot. An older person or a person with disabilities would be lovely. (Be sure there’s someone who can keep his nails trimmed–he can be pointy!) You can’t be lonely when Waylon is around. Or: both! Be in NorCal so we don’t have to put him on a plane. We’ll also consider SoCal at this point. Also, whoever is lucky enough to bring this ultimate love boat into their lives should okay with sound. His yell is loud. He’s slept on the enclosed porch cuddled with his brother for all those years, because 1) both Lala and I are allergic to cats (IRONY) and we can’t have them on our pillows, and 2) I just can’t sleep with him in the main house yelling (that said, the sound of bare feet on carpet wakes me with earplugs in, so I’m a pretty sensitive insomniac). Lala is a sound sleeper and his voice has never bothered her on the other side of the bedroom door. Without his brother, now he’s out on the porch with nothing but a hot water bottle. I cry every night as I tuck him up and so does he.  

Here’s how he sounds:

What Waylon Comes With: Absolutely vast, deep, unlimited amounts of love. He’s the Mariana Trench of love. Free medical care for life. At his last routine vet visit, the doc said there’s nothing wrong with him, but he’s 14, and we know things change. Free food/flea treatment/treats – we’ll reimburse you for whatever you spend. (Please, for the love of God, don’t let him talk you into buying him a diamond collar.) A Litter Robot 3 – you don’t have to scoop, ever! His favorite snuggli. I’ve written whole books with this little businessman cuddled right here.

Did I mention the love? He loves you already. And he’ll never cost you a dime! 

He started the cuddles young. Here, with Clara.

Okay, that picture kills me. We’ve lost 3 of our 5 pets in the last year of old age, and the assholes who thought it would be a good idea to fill our house with love 15 years ago were IDIOTS. Stagger the ages of your pets, please, for your own mental health.

Yesterday, just before he tried to sneak on top of Dozy who then leapt away

The fact that Waylon has lost both his favorite dog and his only brother this month is killing us. Knowing he’s going to lose us, too? There aren’t enough crying emojis in the world.

The only thing that will make this okay is finding him the perfect docking spot for this little love boat. Are you that person? Please let us know.

The post Waylon Needs Cuddles appeared first on R. H. HERRON.