Today I had to say goodbye to my very favorite animal I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, my very handsome tuxedo cat, Spacey -- or as we liked to call him, Mr. Space.

We adopted him from someone in the city in July of 2016 on a whim. My mom had experienced considerable loss with two very special cats of her own decades ago, and it caused her to avoid the idea of getting more for a long time -- but she finally decided to give it a try again, when we adopted Spacey that wonderful day. Originally, his name was as simple as it got -- her then-favorite actor was Kevin Spacey, so she used it for this kitty cat. But with time, he became the only Space that mattered, and after all of the actor's controversy that came out later.... well let's just say, there was never any connection after that point, hahah. There was only one Spacey, and it was this handsome cat. l3

I always said that he transitioned straight from kitten, to grumpy old man -- with no in between. Known for his stern looking gaze, he was truly somewhat of a shy, scaredy boy -- bullied by all the other cats (unless we were there to put a stop to that!!) and hiding behind the toilet whenever it rained and thundered. A soft man who loved nothing more than to gaze out of windows (or sometimes, sit on the closed-off balcony when weather permitted) and curl up in any box he could find. The smoothest, silkiest pelt you ever touched, with an equally big fluffy tail (a noteworthy property in the Graedius household l3)

He was gonna just be an only-cat, but we liked him and his shenanigans so much that we sought out another cat, Yuna -- and since then, 3 more have joined, rescued from all sorts of abandonment. I love each and all of them to little bits, but I always had a soft spot for Mr. Space -- I always liked cats, but I had no particularly strong fondness for them. But that all changed when this handsome boi came into my life, and now I can't resist handling and petting and kissing every kitty who will let me. They're very special to me, and it's all thanks to him. I have like 10 cat-themed coffee mugs, it's kind of a problem!!

About 4 years ago, Spacey became quite anemic out of nowhere -- this was manageable with steroids, and while the steroids eventually caused diabetes as well, it made he and I somewhat kindred spirits as the insulin we were directed to give him daily was the exact same one I used at the time. We both had our 11pm insulin time, hahah! Everything was good for a long time... but this March, he suddenly got much much worse, and became drastically anemic -- only 10% red blood cells, where a normal cat has about 40-50% or so. He was diagnosed with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, meaning his immune system was killing off his own red blood cells... we tried everything in our power to save our Space man. Two blood transfusions later, and the most state of the art care we could get, and all we could do was buy him time. We had further types of immunosuppressants and a myriad of other drugs to help, but alas he did not respond to them... And so, being a soft, sleepy and tired man, today we finally gave him the relief he deserved. No more pain, sickness or illness... even if some will always remain with us. I was with him until the very last moment, and kissed his sweet head once for everyone I knew who knew him, but couldn't be there for it.

From now until doomsday, I will always think of similarly-patterned black-and-white animals as "Space animals", like border collies or dutch rabbits, hahah. My constant use of the term has even influenced a few friends doing the same.... they are just space animals to us. A fitting legacy for the nicest black-and-white space man out there.

Rest in peace, Spacey -- Mr. Space -- my handsome baby cat. You lived 8 years, and deserved to live 8 more. You may have gone from our lives, but in our hearts you will always remain.

Version without wings, though this was more for me than anyone else: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xdvckino62289x5o80s1o/Spacey-Rainbow-Bridge.png?rlkey=ocyxqh79674rj3fk4vkzdm84q&dl=0
I put together a very special timelapse, featuring some of my favorite pics and videos of Spacey before the timelapse itself -- if you'd like to see him, then give it a look: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/w4ie9y1muxn9ou3vah5kq/Spacey-Memorial-Timelapse.mp4?rlkey=ink63cdsiulojmnh5nnn4iuiw&dl=0