One day after we got back from vacation, our cat Daikon had an aneurysm while sleeping next to my husband and I and died. It was incredibly traumatic and despite rushing him to an emergency vet, he was already gone.
I had every intention before this to update this week, but of course, I just couldn't bring myself to work on the comic while my heart was breaking for our loss.
My friend Evy did this lovely drawing of Daikon for us, and with her permission, I'm posting it today instead. Please check out their socials and follow them! The art was very touching an immediately made me cry.
I miss him so much.
The second image I did as sort of an art therapy. Not sure if it worked, but I wanted to draw all of his favourite things. Now I'm gonna ramble about each of the things in the picture.
Braided cord - He loved to just lick and rub his face on any braided cord he could find. So much so that when one of them stopped working, I wrapped it around the base of the cat tree just for him. The last pictures I took of him was all blurry photos of him rubbing his face on the cord I charge my phone with in bed.
The Tiny fake Leather Couch - I have no idea if it was meant as a cat bed, but he fucking loved that couch so much it got a home on a shelf just for him. He didn't fit in it but he'd sleep in it all the time anyways.
Kicker toy - We actually have 2 of these, each from when we adopted our cats from TinyKittens. He would randomly just pounce on it all the time and give it hell.
Scottish mouse - Another TinyKittens toy, handmade by a fan in scotland. His was in such rough shape I had to take it away to fix.
Needle felted Daikon radish - I made this because I could never find any radish themed toys. He shredded that thing but loved it a lot.
Wet Food - This boy was so food motivated he learned tricks. Sit, Up and Bang! Yes, he would flop over and play dead for food. It was the cutest thing ever.
The Wire - A super simple, staple cat toy, but he never got tired of it, and would frequently bat at it, stare at me, and bat at it again, as if to say "Make it go!"
Strawberry Toy - My sister gave me a small pack of these, they're fabric with feathers on the top, because it was as close to a radish that she'd ever seen. Daikon didn't care, he chewed the fuck out of the feathers and chased it all over the place.
Tupperware bin turned bed - We never put a blanket or anything on it, but it lives behind my husbands computer and it was one of his go-to places to sleep when he wanted to be near him.
Churu Churu Churu! - I would sing the churu song whenever the cats got churu, and Daikon would always bully Widget into more than his fair share, so I would have to squirt some onto a finger for her so she'd actually get some.
Suitcase turned into bed - Exactly what it says on the tin, he started sleeping on it so much I added a bit of scrap fabric to it, and it became his spot.
THE Bee - This bee was so addictive to Daikon I had to lock it away. He'd go feral for the damn bee, and grown and hiss at anyone who tried to take it. He would chase it until he panted, if I let it get that far, but more often he'd catch it and refuse to let it go for ANYTHING. Not even treats. It was hilarious offering him a treat while he refused to let go of the bee (while growling) and you could see the panic in his eyes as he tried to work out how to eat both at the same time.
The Perch - The cat tree had two spots he loved. The perch put him at perfect head height to get snuggles and also survey his domain.
The Bowl - The Bowl was perfect for cat circles, and in it lives the custom made tiny quilt that was made by a TinyKittens fan who would make them for all the cats being adopted out. It's white with a blue star that matched his blue eyes.
Dried Sardines - He really loved these sardines so I decided, like the Churu song, the sardines should have a song too. So I managed to pavlov him into coming running anytime I sang the Baby Shark song. It was particularly fun to try to encourage guests to sing the song, without telling them the consequences.
Cat Canoe - I had 1 of these when I had just Widget, but she never slept in it. Then we got Daikon, and suddenly both cats needed to sleep in it all the time, and would tussle over it, so I had to get a second one. We got one with flames to match the Flame Point markings he had. Once we had two, they stopped bickering over them, and Widget never used them again. Go figure.
The Beet - One letter off of Bee, and he didn't go feral when he saw it, so the Beet was the go-to chase toy because we didn't have to lock it away. And it *almost* looked like a radish.
The Only Actual Cat bed - This is where he was sleeping when he died. Usually it was Widget's bed, situated between my husband and I's computers, a prime spot for being near both of us, but the night he died, Daikon was in it, with Widget stretched out on the other end of my desk. Our only consolations to his death was that he was asleep when it happened, and he was with us. We will never have to wonder if we'd have been able to save him because we were away or asleep - we watched it happen. It was fast. He was enjoying the best spot in the house when he went, and that's all we can hope for anyone.
Good-bye Daikon. We love you. You were the best Daikon, and you'll never be forgotten.
