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Podcaster's Poignant Tribute To His Cat After Having To Put Him To Sleep Has The Internet Sobbing
A grieving podcaster posted a moving tribute to his late cat after he was forced to put it to sleep after its prolonged pain living with cancer.
Will Menaker–a co-host of the left-wing comedy/political podcast, Chapo Trap House–tweeted photos of his beloved cat and wrote:
"Yesterday, I had to say goodbye to a friend."
He was touched by all the emotional reactions from social media users who read his loving tribute, and he later followed up with:
"The fact that people think Scorsese died and are finding my cat instead fills my heart."
Menaker said he first encountered the "street cat" when he lived on Quincy St. in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn in 2017.
He said the stray fella would often allow Menaker and his girlfriend to pet him after following them up the steps to his apartment building.
"One night coming home alone, and a little drunk, I wondered how I was going to shut the door on this cat if I see him again?" he wondered.
"I'd never had a cat before, but it was around Thanksgiving and it was getting cold out."
"Sure enough he was there waiting for me," he said of his furry friend that would emerge from underneath parked cars.
"So I asked myself, 'what would happen if I picked him up?'"
"Then I picked him up and thought 'what would happen if I took him inside?'"
He would soon find out that once he crossed the point of no return, he would become attached.
"I did, and from that moment on I was in love."
"I won't say I 'had' a cat, but from then on I shared a house with a tuxedo cat I would name Marty."
\u201cYesterday, I had to say goodbye to a friend.\u201d— Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker (@Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker) 1680106351
He continued:
"He had striking green eyes and a notched ear from being TNR'd (trapped, neutered, and released), so he had lived on the streets for quite some time and was at least 4 or 5 years old by the time we crossed paths."
"That's the extend of what I knew of his life before I met him."
Menaker described Marty as always being "friendly but aloof, outgoing but possessed of a Sphinx-like dignity that nothing could assail" despite many attempts to pick him up and shower him with affection.
"Marty lived with me in the first apartment I lived on my own following the end of one long-term relationship–one in which I had lost a dog in the process of leaving–and the beginning of another with Katherine."
"His presence in my life marked huge changes, as the show took off–Felix described him as an angel investor in the show–and I became not a different person per se, but just the one I am today."
Sadly, Menaker's time with Marty was nearing the end when his beloved pet started suffering from cancer.
"Yesterday, we had to say goodbye."
"After months of trying to treat a cancer that he had been suffering from, he had enough."
After watching Marty no longer able to eat and drink and consequently becoming severely malnourished, he and his partner had to make a difficult decision.
"He was struggling to breathe and began hiding himself away under the couch to die, so Katherine and I decided to make the only decision we could on his behalf."
"He went to sleep in our house and in my arms. I know this is a small tragedy in the grand scheme of the world, but one that I feel acutely knowing that I expected many more years with my friend."
Menaker said he and Katherine were "heartbroken" but "grateful for the years that we did have him in our lives."
In his grief, he held onto a spiritual notion that gave him hope.
"I firmly believe cats are connected in some way to the other side," maintained Menaker.
"They have been around human civilization for roughly 9,000 years and are the only animal species that has domesticated human beings and not vice versa."
"They say cats know God because they know that we are not Gods ourselves."
"Whatever happens after our deaths, I think cats are somehow involved, and I hope that when it comes time, Marty will guide me on my own journey to the Western lands."
Menaker concluded his post by saying goodbye to Marty and said, "I'll miss you terribly."
Soon, RIP Marty began trending on Twitter and people offered condolences.
\u201chttps://t.co/lm25RHjp25\u201d— Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker (@Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker) 1680113362
\u201c@willmenaker RIP Marty..a true furiend\n \ud83d\udc94\ud83d\ude3f\ud83d\udd6f\ud83c\udf08 #RainbowBridge #NewAngel #UntilWeMeetAgain #LoveNeverDies\u201d— Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker (@Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker) 1680106351
\u201c@willmenaker Hey Will, Momo told me Marty will see you on the afterlife streets of BK...\u201d— Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker (@Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker) 1680113362
\u201c@willmenaker Rip Marty. Currently living on Quincy and feeding this guy. I\u2019m going to believe they\u2019re cousins\u201d— Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker (@Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker) 1680113362
\u201c@willmenaker oof not what I expected clicking on the #, but glad I did. I say that bc I love to see the fur family members being loved so hard and whole-heartedly. \nLucky Marty. \nLucky you as well. Surely, you are Marty's love as well. \ud83e\udd79\u201d— Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker (@Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker) 1680113362
Those who could relate commiserated with Menaker.
\u201c@willmenaker Beautiful. We lost one back in September. It gets easier, but it's never the same. Cherish the good times and never forget them.\u201d— Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker (@Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker) 1680113362
\u201c@willmenaker Had a similar experience. Not a cat guy but I do miss my stray. He was a kind old man that only stayed for a short time but definitely has my heart. #RIPMarty. My cat was named Dusty. \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udfff\u201d— Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker (@Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker) 1680106351
\u201c@willmenaker I lost my baby of 15 years back in August 2021. She passed while being cuddled. I still weep when I remember it. We have her ashes and a watercolor painting of her. I think only cats (and other innocent critters) go to heaven.\u201d— Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker (@Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker) 1680113362
\u201c@willmenaker Sorry man. Tuxes are the best. Mine is still here, but her best friend, a tabby we adopted, passed some years ago. She carries on that legacy by being welcoming to any others who come in to oir home. RIP Marty.\u201d— Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker (@Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker) 1680106351
\u201c@willmenaker My condolences. Our old cat, Herschel, disappeared overnight last July. We miss him terribly. He'd been a neighborhood cat who adopted us as his last family. A few months ago, a tuxedo cat showed up out of the blue and pops in randomly. It feels like H sent him to visit us.\ud83d\udc9b\u201d— Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker (@Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker) 1680106351
\u201c@willmenaker Condolences man. My wife and I lost a cat early, around 8 y/o due to lymphatic cancer in 2017 and it still makes me very sad. But a few months later, when we were ready, we adopted another wonderful cat and we love her very much. Hang in there bud\u201d— Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker (@Will \ud83e\udda5 Menaker) 1680113362
R.I.P. Marty.
You adopted the best human.