Rupert: 2005ish – August 17, 2012.
Rupert showed up in our side yard in April 2012 – we believe he was dumped here (or nearby) by his owner, judging by how quickly he warmed up to us.
Actually, we saw him before that on the GameCam from the front porch. On camera, he looked like a very small cat, so we assumed that he was a kitten. When we finally saw him in person, he was clearly an adult (the vet estimated him to be about 7 years old). It took a few days to convince him to let us pet him, whereupon we immediately took him to be neutered and to have his vaccinations. Once he forgave us for that, he was present 24/7 in the side yard or under the side stoop, or sound asleep on the steps of the blue coop. He loved to follow us around the property and supervise whatever chore we were doing. No matter what time of day we opened the side door, Rupert was either there to tell us how it was, or he was running over from the blue coop to tell us how it was.
He was a very sweet, friendly, loving cat. Maxi, who hates most other cats, tolerated him very well, and I suspect that if given enough time, they would have eventually turned out to be best buddies. He was a very submissive cat and never started a fight (though he’d defend himself if need be.)
He disappeared on August 16th, 2012, and Fred found him the next day, laying dead in the ditch that separates our property from the church property next door. He had pretty obviously been struck by a car and killed instantly.
Though he was only with us for a few short months, it felt like much longer, and in his short time with us, Rupert very much became part of our family and is very missed.
Now that I’m looking at this picture of Rupert again, it seems to me that his facial structure is very similar to that of Stefan and I wonder if they could be related.