Seymour Partridge

Seymour came into our (my husband Evan and I) life as a young 9 month old kitty when we, with the help of my sister-in-law, paid a trip to the Golden Valley Humane Society in hopes to adopt my first ever cat (a Christmas gift from Evan) and to one-up that, my actual very first pet ever. She saw a photo of Seymour online, and read his page on their website and figured he would be an excellent match for us. Moments after being placed in his kennel area on the actual viewing floor, he was scooped up to come into a visitation room with us and at that very moment upon seeing him and his white plushy and plentiful fur & his innocent and already terribly cute affectionate demeanor – we knew this was our guy. We knew this was our special Seymour without a single doubt.

Seymour passed tremendously unexpectedly at the age of only 4 years old on 12/12/20 due to a saddle thrombus – which prior to the devastating event, was something we knew little of in the cat realm and Seymour really had no pre-existing conditions or illnesses besides a mild murmur that was audible only on occasion at vet visits. Murmurs of his kind suggest hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – which, in laymen’s terms, is basically an enlarged heart – but does not present many options in terms of management, besides monitoring for any manifestations of worsening condition, which we never saw or were skeptical of prior to the day of his abrupt passing. We try not to dwell too hard or relive the events that brought Seymour to the emergency vet that day and all the sadness that went on in the midst of his declining, but focus on the paramount fact his suffering is ended, and was addressed as promptly as possible given the fact we witnessed him throw the clot and brought him in stat to be assessed.

Seymour – you will never E V E R be forgotten. From your initial days in our Hopkins place where you would greet us at the door with your toasty tail flicking with excitement, hang out by the slider and even have our neighbors notice him as the “big white fluffy guy who watches out for the neighborhood,” enjoy the sunlight whenever you could with squinty happy eyes, reach maximum enjoyment by going out on the cement slab outside with us and exploring the outdoors and enjoying just lounging in the sun next to us in our chairs outside as our little Hopkins trio. You loved to escape to the back of the futon couch – where your fur was matted all over since you felt so comfortable there and secure. You liked to sit on the piano bench and relax, and we could always at the end of the day count on you to curl up at the tail end of our bed. You personally helped me through so much during this time of the Hopkins era and that is something that will never, ever be forgotten. And appreciated so much by the both of us. With wet nose bops and purring fits, coming close and cuddling when you could tell something was not right – your presence meant the world to us, and me specifically during the dark times you brought me out of as my reliable feline companion.

Jump to our big move to Eagan – you adjusted so very well and put your paw on my hand in the car ride over and remained a squinty eyed kitty in the bathroom closet just lounging by the towels, but as soon as you realized all the additional space you had at this new joint – you seemed elated. Hanging out on my closet cabinets seemed to be your favorite “go-to” location, as well as lounging on the leather couch downstairs when it came time to retire for the evening. Even sneaking stealthy under the yellow chair in our room, it was always surprising the little nooks and crannies you could manage to squeeze into and just hang out. You were a window kitty when the weather was right and you got to chill out and look at the birds and squirrels which excited you so. Always so hungry, and craving the 5 AM / 5 PM meal times and extra delighted when tuna came around 🙂 which was rather often since I was such a sucker for you 🙂

As evident, I could go on and on to type about how much of a life changing kitty you always were to us, and continue to be as you live on with your remains and paw prints in our home. The shadow box we made will be something that will always bring a smile to our face, and a random memory with you to our hearts and minds. We miss you, and you will never be replaced, and our love for you will never fade – not even minutely.

Rest In Peace you sweet, sweet kitty who went absolutely way, way too soon. We hope you seeing us for the final time in the room at the vet and realizing that it was your loving “people” brought you comfort and a momentary distraction from the pain and confusion. We hope it helped remind you how painfully much we love you, sweetheart. Not past tense, we will always love you Seymour Erbert.