On 11 October 2011 this guy showed up on our deck.
He was a stray looking for a home. We ended up taking him in and he has been with us ever since. Check Tricia’s blog in the next few weeks as I think she is planning to tell the whole story. Our daughter named him Neville, after the character from Harry Potter. Neville is the best pet I have ever had, and we have had some strong contenders – Boggy our Golden Retriever, and our cats, Sophie and Simone.
He is aging rapidly these days, which is to be expected for a cat that is between 13 and 15 years of age. One day he will go to that special place reserved for deserving cats, and I will miss him a lot. We have plenty of photos, but I have done just a few sketches since I just don’t sketch cats very well. Yet I do have a few.
Neville has been with us in three homes, first in Lynnwood, WA. I have no sketches of him from that time. In 2015 we moved to a condo in Mukilteo and he became Neville of Mukilteo. Here are a few sketches from that time.
One of his favorite places was in front of the fireplace.
In February of 2022 we sold the condo and prepared to move to France. Little did he know what these packing boxes meant for him. He would endure a long plane and car ride, which he handled so well.
After seven years as a condo-kitty he became Neville of Normandie, complete with a yard and fields to explore, which he loves.
Of all of the many photos of Neville this is one of my favorites. Tricia took it not long after we moved to France.
Like me, Neville moves slower these days. We pamper him with whatever food he wants, treats, and lots of attention. Yes, I have become a dotting cat person and am proud of it. We take each day as it comes, remembering so many good times. In the end that is what all of life should be about, forgetting the not so good times, keeping the good times, and living each day. Thank you Neville for being part of that for me.
theTravelsketcher 
Touching and lovely. We have no other words, so searched for a quote that could say it for us. So, here you are: “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”
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How am I supposed to reply, I cant see the keys through misty eyes. Thank you so much.
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Oh Shirley, that’s a beautiful quote, and so true.
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We have had some wonderful pets over the years, but Neville is an extra special one. Beautiful tribute to him.
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Thank you so much, yes we have.
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What a lovely and tender tribute to Neville. Our pets occupy such a special place in our lives. We lost our Rudy 8 years ago, but we think of him and talk of him often.
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We do remember them for a long time, it is touching.
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Neville quite clearly loves being French
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Oh yes he did!
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😎
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Quite a touching story of your beautiful cat. Thank you for sharing.
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Thank you for your thoughts.
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Very touching. Thanks for sharing buddy !
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“Cats choose us; we don’t own them.” (Kristen Cast) Clearly, Neville chose very well.
So long sweet kitty.
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And it is so true.
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Ai mean true that he chose us.
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