Elvis came to us one night, wandering down our street. He was a stray, but had belonged to someone, as he had a harness around his neck, and his front claws had been removed (which is something I disagree with doing to a cat).

We already had 4 cats (all strays), and really did not want to have another – BUT Elvis stayed, and was accepted by all the other cats in our house.

He was also accepted by Lucy, our Old English Mastiff. Lucy would walk over to Elvis to give him a sniff, and Elvis would bat her with his declawed front paws right across the nose. Lucy would then nuzzle Elvis, and he would just keep on “boxing” Lucy. Eventually, there was a truce, and Lucy and Elvis got along pretty well.

We named him Elvis, because at first, he wanted to go in and out – all the time. So, when he would go out, we would say, “Elvis has left the building!” Likewise when he would come in, “Elvis is in the building,” would be the refrain!

Elvis had a habit of jumping up on the bathroom sink, and would patiently wait for you to turn on the tap so he could lean over and get a drink of “fresh” water. (If I could send a 15 second video clip of this, you would have a good laugh!)

Elvis, always the mooch, would silently beg for table scraps, and if you ignored him for too long, he would join you on the chair next to you. If that didn’t do the trick, his next moves was to join you on the table – of course, that was “unacceptable!”

One time, at a party we were hosting, Elvis helped himself to some sushi! He was shooed away, but he did not surrender the sushi! Being the ladies man, he charmed all the ladies who visited our house.

It is always interesting to watch “kitty cat politics” when you have a number of cats in the house. At one time, Elvis got up to about 23 pounds, and he would sometimes puff out his chest, and become top cat, and huff and puff his way around the house. It was fun to watch.

Elvis left our world just about 24 hours ago, having suffered through a bout of severe inflamatory bowel sysdrome. We tried all the tricks in the vet’s aresenal, but to no avail.

Elvis is a beloved member of our family, and he is sorely missed. There will never be another one like him.

Tim From New Jersey