In memory of Junior

Yesterday my mother and step-father had to make the tough decision to put our family cat, Junior, down.
Apparently there was a blood clot in his artery, which was causing him severe pain and the inability to walk or function properly. According to my step-father, who was home at the time, it all happened suddenly. One moment he was fine, happy to be petted. The next, he was yowling as if in pain and struggled to get up and walk.
My step-father rushed him to an animal hospital and was given the news. He called my mother, who was on her way to Ohio to run a marathon, with the news and they made the decision.
They are both hurting over the loss. Junior was about 18 years old.
Technically, Junior was my cat. But, since I've been gone for a long time, only seeing him on weekend visits, he has been the family cat.
I remember when we got him. A friend brought over a bunch of kittens and we selected a couple to add to the two we already had, Whiskers and Midnight.
We selected a gray one, who was Smokey, and an orange one, who we named Junior.
Eventually, we had to give away Smokey because we were told by the city that we had too many cats for an in-town home. Whiskers later had some medical complications and had to be put down. Midnight passed away suddenly.
Junior was all that was left. By that time, I was out of the house. My brother and sister were soon to follow for college and then careers.
As I said, he became the family cat. By that time, he was an indoor and outdoor cat. He loved to be outside, often hanging out under the back porch. Often, it was hard to coax him back indoors. Neighborhood cats would come to visit or fight. But Junior toughened up and learned to hold his ground, if needed.
He was a sweet cat with a sweet meow, who loved to be petted. Above all he wanted to be petted or to sit by your feet.
I am sad to know he is gone but he had a long life and I am glad he was not alone.