Thread by @charlenedraws

In late September, my cat & best friend, Uno, died.

Losing a pet is never easy; we miss them, but we also cherish their memory.

I thought it would be nice to remember her with an #Inktober style celebration of life.

So I give you Day 1 of #UNOvember

#CatsOfTwitter #cats

I guess people normally post the drawing prompts for the month, so here's the list for #UNOvember

I made it to help me figure out how to tell Uno's story. But you're welcome to use the list for your own drawing challenge, if you want to.

#UNOvember Day 2 - Bench

We first saw Uno sitting on a stone bench at a void deck (an open space on the 1st floor of Singapore public apartment blocks).

#UNOvember Day 3- Stray

She had no collar, and she ate leftovers that people left out for the stray cats.

#UNOvember Day 4 - Friendly

Unlike the other strays, she was friendly. We started calling her Friendly Cat.

#UNOvember Day 5 - Concerned

We grew attached to Friendly Cat. And concerned - what if she got sick, or hurt?

#UNOvember Day 6 - Missing

One night, she was not on her bench.

#UNOvember Day 7 - Scared

We looked around and found her. Hiding in some bushes from two big black cats.

#UNOvember Day 8 - Saved

She seemed fine but we decided to take her home. Just for the night.

#UNOvember Day 9 - Ouch

The next day, it turned out that she was not fine. So off to the vet we went.

#UNOvember Day 10 - Cone

She needed medicine. And care. And a cone.

#UNOvember Day 11 - Heal

With time she got better. By then, we couldn't bring ourselves to take her back to her bench.

#UNOvember Day 12 - Happy

So we kept her. We were happy. I think she was too.

#UNOvember Day 13 - Zero

We already had a cat. His name was Zero. We renamed Friendly Cat to Uno.

#UNOvember Day 14 - Home

Uno settled into her new home. She had food. And shelter. And people who loved her.

#UNOvember Day 15 - Bully

And a cat friend who was kind of terrified of her. Although in time, they did become friends.

#UNOvember Day 16 - Plane

When we moved to Canada, Uno and Zero came too. They flew around the world!

#UNOvember Day 17 - Winter

Uno arrived, like us, in Winter. For a cat from the tropics, it must have been a strange sight.

#UNOvember Day 18 - Seasons

But she got used to watching the seasons come and go.

#UNOvember Day 19 - Alone

In the Spring of 2012, Zero died. Uno was alone. We think she genuinely missed Zero for days.

#UNOvember Day 20 - House

We bought a house. She had the place to herself, and acted like the Queen of castle.

#UNOvember Day 21 - Grass

She loved the garden… but she would not stop eating the grass!

#UNOvember Day 22 - Buddy

Later, we welcomed a new cat. Teken thought of Uno as a buddy.

Uno just thought Teken was a jerk.

#UNOvember Day 23 - Studio

In her final years, Uno spent most of her time sleeping in my studio.

#UNOvember Day 24 - Purr

In the mornings and evenings though, she would cuddle with me in bed. And purr. Loudly.

#UNOvember Day 25 - Kidney

In early 2019, Uno was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney disease. It was sad, but we hoped she would have some years left.

#UNOvember Day 26 - Sick

By September though, Uno's condition deteriorated. She had end stage kidney failure, and an inflamed bladder.

#UNOvember Day 27 - Goodbye

We made the hard decision to let her go early. So she wouldn't have to suffer a painful decline.

#UNOvember Day 28 - Garden

On her last day, we let her have a last walk in the garden. Though too sick for food, she still managed to have fun munching on grass.

#UNOvember Day 29 - Death

Uno died peacefully at home, in my studio, on her favorite cushion.

#UNOvember Day 30 - Promise

Before she died, I promised her that we'd be together, forever.

And so.

Uno. Together, forever.