From the Archives: Namir’s Bedroom Eyes

Namir turns his gaze up to me, enchanting me with his “bedroom eyes” as we spend a morning in the garden.

. . . . . . .

Namir trots in anticipation down the length of my desk because a car has pulled up in front of my home and studio. He leans far off the edge and looks out the door at our guest, who is now approaching. Oh, the hopeful expression with ears cupped forward and whiskers at attention, practically on his toes and his tail waving, looking straight up into our visitor’s eyes.

To heck with me, I just do business and live here, but he always got the first greeting, “Hi Namir, how’s my boy?” accompanied by pets and more talk.

Once he is sure he has our visitor under his spell he turns on those famous bedroom eyes, narrowing them just enough so they looked mysteriously slanted and angling up a tourmaline glance, as if sharing a secret, looking totally exotic (he thinks), purring joyfully, certain our visitor belongs to him completely.

Everyone had to greet Namir, no matter their original intention, and no one ever seemed to mind. Those who did not got a swat on the elbow or a tug on the sleeve or other increasingly desperate attempts to make eye contact and return the focus to Namir. Those who sat down got Namir draped over a leg with his chin on their knee, even if he did not match their clothing.

Other cats might have tried to get their time with visitors, too, or visitors might actually try to pet another cat after petting Namir, but while Namir might let them stray he always managed to bring them back, sometimes with charm and sometimes with a shove to Cookie or Peaches to mind their own business.

And somehow he knew when a car outside was visiting us or not because he had no response to cars whose contents did not come to our door. But on days when no one came to visit, he would doggedly go to the end of the desk just in case someone might happen by, crouch like a cricket and wait.

I never minded that it seemed I was not enough for him because there were never enough people for him to love. When he wasn’t greeting people at the door he was on my lap giving me the same bedroom eyes, or sleeping in some contorted curled ball on the desk at my elbow, or balanced on the back of my office chair, purring against my upper back. Wherever I went in the house, so did he, following me at his own deliberate pace, that particular “click” of the one front claw that didn’t retract all the way, but I always knew that he would join me, because I couldn’t be trusted to remember important things like dinner and providing a lap.

. . . . . . .

Today I remember Namir, who finally gave in to his five-year battle with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure on July 1, 2009. He gave it a run for its money for certain, and didn’t agree to leave until he had done everything he wanted to do, and lived every moment to its fullest. The photo above was taken May 22, 2009.

Five years later, I still have a good cry.

And happy birthday to Abby, who joined Namir where all the greatest HCM kitties go, last year.

. . . . . . .

Read about Namir in “Who Was That Namir, Anyway?”, and my tribute to him and his final days in “Not a Bad Deal on a Pre-Owned Cat”.

Browse the archives for Namir,

and don’t forget to look at the header image, which features him in another of his contemplative moments in the sun.

Photos pulled “From the Archives” were taken by one or another digital camera of mine between 2002 and, well, yesterday, but usually they are older than that, and I had never had the chance to feature them. They’re a fun way to “introduce” other members of my feline family who came and went before I began blogging, and to illustrate my feline family in general from days gone by.

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.

© 2014 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Bok Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!

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