Junior obituary
July 13, 2024
Our sweet boy Junior departed this world on July 12, 2024, a few days shy of his 15th birthday. Junior gave us pure joy, unconditional love, spontaneous fun, therapeutic routines, and taught us many life lessons.

Junior came into our lives as a two-month old kitten that was so small we quickly named him Junior. We immediately bonded with him in his room at the SPCA as he climbed up our necks to inform us that he was our cat now. As a kitten he was a real climber – up blinds, up the shower curtain, or perching atop steep bookshelves. His loud meows and strange chirps were so funny they earned him the nickname “squawk,” which quickly became his permanent name. He loved sneaking into our closets and burrowing so deep into them that we would spend hours looking for him. He was a loyal little brother to his big sister and mother figure Scully cat for ten years until she passed away in 2019.

Junior was so affectionate and was always up for a good snuggle. He nestled himself on our pillows at bedtime and he loved to crawl under the covers in bed to snuggle with us in the morning, always making it difficult to get out of bed to start our day. His habit of sitting on our chests and nosing and licking our faces while we could hear him purr and feel his breaths was truly therapeutic and always recharged our batteries. It was his way of reminding us that we were his humans and we were more than happy to submit to his warm, furry affections.

Junior loved to cackle at birds through his perch by the window and he had a huge fan club of passersby who would admire him from outside. He was an artist who would always find the most perfectly aligned and centered spot on the bed to sit, making our room look like a beautiful artwork. He would always find new positions to create such appealing compositions that filled our phones with beautiful cat pictures. He had beautiful markings, the softest and warmest fur that we loved to sniff in like a drug, and an unusually long tail that poked through his chest when he sat in his “tucked in” position. He loved to disrupt our computer work from home and made frequent appearances in our Zoom meetings.

Junior spent all of his days with us in the same cozy apartment. It became his territory which he patrolled with grace while always watching out for his little brother and blind cat Wally. Junior learned a lot from his big sister Scully and he grew into a patient guide, mischievous playmate, and faithful grooming buddy to little Wally even while he was quietly battling lymphoma himself in his last years. While his final years were marked by constant medication, scary vet visits, and frequent sickness, Junior persevered and never withheld his love and affection.

Junior taught so much to his humans, Leslie and Chris. Living life in the moment,
unapologetically enjoying “me” time, accepting and embracing others rather than trying to change them, compassion and empathy toward others, how to care-give and accept care, and above all courage and grace in the face of setbacks and health challenges. Junior fought his cancer with strength and grace and outlived his diagnosis by nearly two years, and we are forever grateful for this time with him. We are equally grateful for Junior having the strength to tell us very clearly when he was ready go when we could not imagine saying goodbye. Words cannot describe how grateful we are to A Gentle Rest and Dr. Gorczyca for the wonderful experience they gave us that celebrated Junior’s life and gave him peaceful passage in the comfort of his home.

We are truly devastated without Junior’s calming and soothing presence in our life. Our home feels eerily quiet and empty and the world seems so joyless without him. But we can feel his spirit with us and his final lesson will be to live not without him but with his enduring love and memory. Farewell sweet Junior aka little Squawk, we know you are finally at peace and we thank you so much for all you gave us.
-Leslie K. and Chris F.