R.I.P. Meepie

Wylie "Meepie" Wilhoit, April 1998- Nov. 30, 2012

Wylie "Meepie" Wilhoit, born sometime in April of 1998, passed away on Friday, November 30, 2012 at the ripe old age of 14.  Meepie, as he was called since the day after he was rescued from the humane society in Vincennes, Indiana, came to live with the Wilhoit family in May of 1998 and remained there until his passing.

Meepie is survived by his human parents, Jay & Sarah; two younger, pesky human siblings, Madolyn & Lane; two Labrador dogs, Abby & Hank; a dwarf hamster, Oreo; three horses, Woody, Melody & Doll; two pregnant pigs, Ruby & Yadi.  Interesting to note, Meepie was the only kitten in his litter at the human society that did not have an extra thumb. 

Meepie was preceded in death by Labrador dogs, Gunner, Macey, Duke and Hank I; Archie, a miniature beagle; Shezabluestreak the horse; Frankie the hamster; too many goats to mention; and Little Black Sambo, an enormous black kitten, whose sole purpose in life was to irritate the Meepie.  Also during his lifetime, Meepie enjoyed the company of two very large Bloodhounds, Buster & Bificus, and a rabbit named Mocha.  (It is possible I have missed someone in this listing.)

Meepie will always be remembered as a warrior, all too often dragging headless rodents up to the back door to impress his masters.  There was no match too big or small for the Meep.  He would take on anything that came his way and would not back down.  Several friends of the family dubbed Meepie "Satan" because of his unique demeanor and creepiness.

He loved the bathroom closet.

Meepie preferred to keep to himself unless we had visitors...then he made his presence known.  I remember one or two times a repairman being at the house and Meepie crawling all around inside their van as they had left the doors open.  We had one friend who treasured his Harley and was very particular about its condition.  He would ride that bike over and in a matter of seconds, Meep would be sitting on the seat, or if he drove his truck, Meep would be crawling around the hood.  He knew how much this fella hated him and Meep made sure to further fuel the fire.

I can recall having my church women's group over and Meep walking in between everyone's legs, rubbing up against pant legs, lurking around.  He honed in on the one lady who wasn't fond of cats and rubbed all over her leg, until I could see she couldn't take it anymore.  He had a knack for finding those that didn't appreciate his presence and then smothering them.  I loved that about him.

When we lived in Lawrenceville, we set up a nice little feeder in the backyard for squirrels and birds.  Meepie loved it.  His favorite pastime was finding someplace nearby and watching for his next prey.  We really weren't trying to bait animals and birds for Meepie's conquest, but that's pretty much how it went down.  Thus, the appearance of several headless animals and birds under the deck.

Bird feeder below.  (The Meep & I hate birds!)

A few years ago, we started comparing the Meep to "Where's Waldo?" because you just never knew where he would be, hiding, sitting calm and still, watching, waiting, spying.  We would drive down our lane and just happen to look this way or that way, and he would be perched on top of a fence post or on a branch of a tree, still as could be watching.  Maybe he was watching for us to come home, but I doubt it...he was always a predator at heart.

Meepie will surely be missed by his family, all of them...even the human ones who claim no interest or affection.  The time had come.  Keeping him alive was becoming a selfish human act.  We snuggled up together the last couple nights in the chair, me trying to read on my Nook, Meepie trying to rub his nose on the corner of it, causing me to drop it.  Many times, he would get up and reposition himself as cats do, trying to find the perfect spot...nudging my hand to rub his ears. 

Meepie was a beautiful, great cat, a true Wilhoit Ranch survivor.  I loved that old cat.  May you rest in peace, my ornery Meepie.