Hobey, 1995-2014
Submitted by Sarah D. Bunting on March 28, 2014 – 3:04 PM213 Comments
Professor Sunbeam, June 2013
One time, years ago, I started making a list of all the nicknames I had for the Hobe: Orangino. Hobey Wan. Clicks. Herr Mittenspiel. Grampy. Creamsicle. Tolstoy.
I stopped after, like, 37, because it was still only a fraction of the list, because he would keep licking a plastic bag like a big weirdo no matter what I called him, because they all meant the same thing, the thing all nicknames mean, that he was known, that he was loved.
And he is, more than all his names can say.
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Tags: friends orange cats
Oh Sars, I’m so sorry. I know your heart hurts. Rest well Hobey and see you on the other side.
I’m so sorry, Sars. Loving them is a gift, losing them just sucks.
Oh, Sars, I am so, so sorry.
Oh noooooo!!!! (That’s exactly what I said when I saw the page load on my computer.) I’m so, so sorry. I’d been wondering about the Hobey lately, doing the math and wondering if I had missed an announcement at some point. He had a good long life with you and he was clearly very much beloved. A kitty life well lived.
I literally gasped when I went to this website this morning. So sorry, Sars. There is nothing like an old furry friend, especially one with such a big, distinct personality. This makes me think I shouldn’t curse as much at my own old furry friend.
The end of an era. We love you Sars, and we’ll miss sweet Hobey.
So very sorry for your loss. Hobey was well loved and will be missed.
Deepest condolences and sympathy.
Dear sweet boy. My sincerest condolences.
I am so sorry for your loss. I’m so glad you shared stories of him with us throughout the years.
I am so sorry to hear this.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
NOOOOOO!! Oh, how terribly sad. I’m so sorry, Sars.
Hobey and Little Joe (and Mabel) were, and are, the luckiest cats on earth.
Oh, Hobey. I’m so sorry.
I’m very sorry for your loss, Sars. Please be gentle with yourself.
I am so very sorry for your loss. Your tales of Hobey and Little Joe are epic and the love you have for them always comes through the writing.
{{{cheesy internet hugs}}} Glad you have your other furry companions to help ease the pain.
Aw, sweet Hobey. I am so sorry.
Awww. I’m sorry. Like so many others, I felt like I knew the guy.
Oh, I’m so sorry for the loss of your Toothless. Thanks for letting us get to know him.
My condolences on your loss. I’m so sad for all of you.
I am terribly sorry for your loss.
I’m so, so sorry for your loss.
Oh no, not the Hobe….so sorry to hear this sad news.
Aw, geez. I’m so sorry.
This sucks. It’s not fair. I’m sorry.
I hope you’re okay, Sars. You gave Hobey a good life, he loved you, and he knew you loved him. I hope those facts will comfort you.
Just saw the announcement-so very sorry Sars. He was lucky to have you.
I’m so sorry, Sars. Even a long-lived furry friend never lives long enough.
I just logged on here for the first time in YEARS to find a Vine I like to link people to whenever people trumpet about the nobility of shoplifting (it happens more often than you’d think, and I bet at least one person here knows the Vine of which I speak), and this is the first thing I see.
I haven’t read this site in years (no idea why; life happened and I just kinda stopped visiting a lot of sites), I never met your cats, but I burst into tears as soon as I saw the header. He was pretty awesome. I’m sorry for your loss (and sorry to read about Little Joe as well; that loveable fatass never failed to make me laugh.) What an awesomely long life for a kitty, though.
Sars I am so very sorry for your loss.
I always loved your stories about Hobey – such a larger than life character! He will be missed by so many people.
Much love to you and your whanau.
Oh no! I’d been wondering where he was recently…I’m so sorry.
Not Hobey Wan, too! SO sorry, Sars. Longtime reader. Not much commenting, but I sorta felt like I knew him, too. One of my cats is Obi Wan Kittobi. He and I send our sympathies.
Aww, bless his heart. I will miss The Hobe just from your stories. So sorry for your loss.
It’s so, so hard to lose a furbaby. And I know the very special place orange kitties have in hearts and homes. So sorry for your loss.
@Molly, Shoplifting Jack ruins everything. hee. Thanks for stopping by, though, and for the kind words.
Sending you all the love Sars. He was well loved by all of us from afar. I will imagine the Hobe & Little Joe laying in big pools of sunlight while a poor sap doing time in Purgatory perpetually trips over them and they give each other cat high fives.
Love to you and all who knew Hobey. What a special (in more ways than one) cat, and he was lucky to be a part of your family.
Sars, I’m so sorry for your loss. I don’t know how long it has been since you’ve read your essays on the Roomba, but this one always makes me crack up every time I read it. I think it captures the spirits of Hobey and Little Joe so perfectly. Despite you taking pleasure in their fear of the Roomba, I think they were very lucky to have you as their human.
I’m so sorry for your loss. My late cat was named Phoebe Sunflower but she either didn’t know it or simply disliked the name, as the only thing she ever answered to was “Kitty.” My heart broke when she passed after 16 years together. I’ve always enjoyed your stories about the cats and I’m sorry to hear this latest news.
Oh no! :( I’m so sorry. Internet hugs from South America (and from my kitties back in California, I’d make them do it, even the one who hates that).
I have never been sadder to hear of the loss of a cat I did not personally know. I am so sorry for your loss.
I’m so sorry, Sars. It’s been a rough year for you with both your boys. You have my deepest sympathies.
I’m so sorry for your loss, Sars. I’ve been enjoying the tales (tails?) of the Hobey Cat since I started reading TN about a million years ago. My thoughts are with you.
Love and hugs to you, Sars. He’s been such a part of the TN world for ages. Thank you for sharing his awesomeness with all of us out here.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Hobey was one of the world’s true characters. We are fortunate that you’ve shared so many good stories with us. Thank you.
So sorry to hear this. :(
I am so sorry. I loved reading about him and Little Joe. They knew they were much loved and had a wonderful life with you, if that is of some comfort. They were known all over the world and cheered up a lot of people who never even met them. That’s some epitaph. So sorry x
That sweet boy had a long and wonderful life, which really makes it that much harder to say goodbye. I loved reading your posts about him and his feline companions (I still chuckle remembering when Little Joe joined the family). I’m so very sorry for your loss.
Very sorry to hear about Hobie, Sars. He and Little Joe are what drew me to TN so many years ago, and I always looked forward to the occasional cat stories. My old man is 18, and I am dreading this day myself.
Hope you, Dirk and Mabel are doing as well as you can.
I’m so so sorry. Your stories of Hobey and Little Joe made me laugh so much (quietly, because I was at work, so I’d chortle to myself, trying to keep it in, while tears leaked out, and my co-workers probably wondered what disorder I had, that made me make those weird sounds).
Nothing helps, when a beloved pet dies. When my last dog died, I put pictures of her up around the house, trying to feel close to her. For about 30 minutes I wore her dog collar on my wrist, but the jingle of her tags depressed me so much, losing her still felt too raw. I miss her every day (she died in January of 2010). I have other dogs now, who I love as much but differently. They are lovely, but they do not fill the hole left by Flannery.
I’m so sorry to hear this. I felt like I knew him. I lost my own beloved orange cat, Marmalade, in January, and I’m sad all over again.