A Tribute to Rex

We adopted Rex a year ago from the animal shelter with another kitty, since we had the room for 2 more cats. Rex was an old cat, not sure how old, as his history was unknown to the shelter. They said he was at least 10 years old.
I first met Rex at the specialty hospital where I worked last year, when the shelter brought him in to see the "eye specialist" as he had come to the shelter with a ruptured eye. His right eye did need to be removed and the Doctor commented on how good a cat he was, since it had to be painful, and he never cried or was a difficult patient. He was a real sweet kitty.
Rex returned a couple of weeks later to see a specialist in my department, (internal medicine), as the shelter had noticed that he had nasal polyps.
Another anesthetic procedure for Rex. I did not assist with this particular procedure that day, but everyone was raving what a nice cat he was. He would wrap his front legs around your neck as you carried him. The biopsy came back benign, so back to the shelter and up for adoption.
A couple of weeks later, we find ourselves at the shelter ready to adopt a new pet. Well, I remembered Rex, and how nice he was. And his chart said he was a "lap cat".
Our other cats were not lap cats, and I really wanted a snuggly lap cat. We took him home with a younger grey cat, Achilles.

About 2 weeks ago, I noticed a large lump on Rex's front leg. Having had a previous cat with bone cancer, I knew this lump could not be good. Rex also seemed to be getting senile, and we already agreed that we gave him a good home, some more time on this earth to be loved, and I did not want to put him through any more anesthetic procedures.
Then, he went blind. This happened so quickly, almost like overnight. He was still getting around, could find his bowls and litter, so that was o.k. As long as he was still eating, it was o.k.
Yesterday, he stopped eating. Got very disoriented, could not find his way to the litter box. So today, I took him to work, and said my good-bye. He went gently, and peacefully.
Good night my snuggly lap cat. You will be missed.