In terribly sad news, we had to let our sweet boy Cheddar go a few weeks ago, after a brief medical emergency related to a heart condition that he was diagnosed with in late 2024.
We were devastated and heartbroken to lose him so suddenly, though we knew that his heart condition meant that our time with him would eventually be cut short. But you simply can’t prepare yourself for loss.
We met Cheddar and Linus (original names: Jack and Josh) in November 2019. They were a bonded pair from rural West Virginia who ended up at a shelter in the DC suburbs. We spent about ten minutes with them at the shelter before deciding to apply to adopt these sweet orange tabbies. Cheddar wasn’t neutered when he arrived at the shelter, so as part of his adoption, they performed the surgery before we brought our boys home. He had big, chunky tomcat cheeks for awhile after we the surgery, but they eventually shrank as his hormones changed post-neutering. Because of those adorable cheeks, we at first toyed with the idea of calling him “Cheeks.”
Cheddar ended up with numerous nicknames, most often Ched, Jed, Grum, and Little Bear. Cheddar and his BFF Linus took to our home immediately when we brought them home from the shelter. Each cat picked their human; Cheddar selected me that very first night. He climbed up into my lap, draped his paws over my leg, and gazed up into my eyes. Immediate love. He came to feel like my animal familiar and was like my little furry best friend. Cheddar adored sitting on my lap for pets or brushing, and sometimes licked my hand as I brushed him. He loved playing with his banana toy, curling up in a cozy bed, indoor sunbathing, eating Greenies and Churu, grooming Linus, and chatting with squirrels and birds outside. Cheddar was even a very good boy at the vet, despite having to endure stressful visits for cardiac ultrasounds and wearing a heart rate monitor vest for 24 hours. He also did wonderfully on our long travel day from DC to LAX when we officially moved earlier this year.
Cheddar loved making biscuits in his cozy beds, and he took his job very seriously. After lunch was major biscuit-making time, and he would purr happily while he went about his business. We couldn’t leave cookies sitting on a plate on the counter, because on more than one occasion I caught him licking a cookie that was sitting out. He also liked licking the cast iron pan if we left it sitting out. He was not a morning person, and I felt bad disturbing his morning slumber to give him his heart meds. He had a real taste for cat grass; I could only put it out briefly because he would eat too much too fast and barf shortly thereafter. He didn’t care for dried catnip (nor does Linus), but he really enjoyed chomping on a couple leaves of fresh catnip.
Cheddar was typically a little reserved when meeting new people, but it never took long for him to warm up to them—especially if they pet him. He didn’t love being picked up, but did enjoy being held “Little Bear” style by John. Cheddar became especially activated after meals and often wanted to hang out, especially at nighttime (we called it “Bed Ched”). He liked to meow outside the bedroom door and scratch at it in the hopes that we would let him in for a “Grumber Party.” He also enjoyed doing what we called his “cute roll-arounds” in the afternoon, with a full post-lunch tummy.
Due to Cheddar’s heart condition, we knew we wouldn’t have as much time with him as we would have liked. But we are incredibly grateful that we ended up having more time with him than initially expected based on his prognosis. Our hearts are broken, but they’re also full because of how much love we received from this handsome, precious boy over the past six and a half years. Cheddar was truly special and we loved him deeply.
Linus is doing okay without his buddy and we are giving him lots of love. When we feel ready, we will find a new buddy for him to hang out with because he really enjoys kitty companionship.
John, Linus, and I are going to miss our sweet Cheddar so very much.
