Losing Rudy, and 20 years of adulthood

Rudy, my beloved 20-year-old Maine Coon cat.

Wednesday night, my 20-year-old cat, Rudy, passed away at home. I used to joke that he’d outlive all of us, but in the end, his little heart just gave out. Rudy had been experiencing some of the things that pets do when aging: loss of hearing, impaired vision, some cognitive losses as if he wasn’t sure where he was all the time.