Remembering Pixel

[Content warning: Sad memorial post for my cat passing away, along with many nostalgic pictures]

A month ago one of our cats, Pixel, passed away of cancer (2008 - 2025). 😿 I'm still grieving, of course, but I wanted to remember the joy and cuteness he brought to our lives for the last 17 years.

Looking at old pictures and videos, besides remembering how handsome he was, and what a feisty, playful cat he was, I also kept thinking, "I can't believe he's gone, and these pictures and videos are all I have left to remember him by," and a smallish part of me is still in denial, thinking, "he's not gone, he's just not here." It'll take me a while to come to terms with everything, especially having been his caretaker during his illness for so long. 😩 😢

Going Back to the Beginning

We adopted both Pixel and Sprite as kittens from an adoption agency that had adoption events at Petco in Naperville.

We saw them late one evening, when the adoption agency was gone for the night, and were concerned they might get adopted out from under us, but luckily we got to Petco early the next day and completed the adoption process.

Of course both kittens were rambunctious as kittens often are, but Pixel stood out early on as the more active, "athletic" cat during play times, while Sprite was more chill and was more of a lurker.

These were taken on their first full day with us. Pixel also used to have blue eyes. I was somewhat bummed when they turned amber as he got older. 😅

Here are more kitten pics...look at how smol they were!

Over the Years

When Pixel played, he could be intense! 😅

And of course, he was a silly kitty, doing ridiculous things all the time.

Conversely, we called Pixel a "model kitty" because when he would lay down anywhere, he often did a model pose, like so:

And he did it all the time, anywhere!

It's kinda ridiculous how photogenic he was. 🥹 I have way too many pictures categorized in the "Model" folder to post them all here without making this post even more overstuffed than it is. Below I'll post a few more of my favorites, and maybe upload the rest elsewhere, like on Flickr or something.

As you might've been able to tell, Pixel had a very expressive face. He used to look at us expectantly for things (probably food or a snack) with his "bright eyes":

To bring this memorial post to a close, sort of full circle, I'll share several pictures of Pixel and Sprite together. It's definitely bittersweet because these litter mates, these brothers, have been each other's companions their whole lives.

When we first got them, they cuddled together all the time, because they were still getting used to living with us. Over time they didn't need to sleep so close together, and became independent, while still being buddies. 😺 But as you can see, even after they got older, they still snuggled together and groomed each other from time to time.

It's hard to tell how Sprite feels about Pixel being gone, but he does seem to be more clingy around me. I've been doing my best to be his companion in Pixel's absence, but of course, it's not the same. 😢 We're all going to miss Pixel so much. He had such a full presence in our lives for 17 years. We love you, Pix. 🧡