BuzzFeed had a great article about growing up with pets where they showed a picture of a young child with a little animal and then how years can pass by and they are both grown up.

Mind you, there was a lot more to that article than what I just briefly described above, and I won’t be able to give the article justice just by explaining it. That’s what I got from it. But please check out the BuzzFeed article here: 24 Life Lessons You Learn From Growing Up With Your Pet

But, that got me thinking about how I grew up with, and if you haven’t been with the blog since its inception back in March of 2005 (its been that long) than you might not know about Mathew, my Maine Coon cat that I had for 21 years.

Anyway, here is a picture of us when I was 3 and he was a kitten:

I don’t know if I’m actually choking him or not, but no worries, he survived past this point for another two decades.

Here is a pic from sometime in the early 2000’s:

I miss my little man, he was a great pet and a great friend. Meows and all, there will never be a cat quite like Mathew.

Thanks for the inspiration BuzzFeed, now I have to go in a corner and cry a little bit!