Today I feel the desire to pay tribute to a dear and departed four-legged friend with whom I shared 17 years of my life.

Oskar, aka Wabbit, was a prince among cats with a larger-than-life personality that charmed all who met him, including non-cat people.

A fearless hunter, he showered me with many rodent trophies left proudly on the doorstep. For practice he expertly stalked the beam of a flashlight against any surface with sniper precision.

He adored Princess, his feline companion of 14 years, who had him well trained to do her bidding. So much so, in fact, that when he passed away last summer she was forced to adopt a new strategy for survival, i.e. she became sociable.

Oskar made me laugh. He made me cry. He anchored me through many tough times and was the source of many smiles. He was a dear boy and the source of a lot of love.

I wouldn’t have posted this except that for some reason today he is very much in my thoughts and I miss him.

This is one of my favourite portraits of Oskar in one of his favourite sunspots.

Copyright Aimwell Enterprises 2012