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Stinky Kovatch
June 21st, 2007
Dear Friends:
Stinky the cat died today. Stinky was approximately 15 years
old, which in human years is about 75. He has been battling
kidney disease for about 3 years now.
I adopted Stinky 13 years ago. He was a stray cat found by
Scott M. and family in Texas. They named him due to
the fact that as a stray he ate garbage and whatever he
could find and it did not agree with his digestive tract. At
least that is the story as I remember it. After he got on a
normal housecat diet, the gas problem went away and he was
only Stinky in name.
Even people who did not like cats took a fancy to Stinky.
 He
was not pretentious. He was super friendly (even to kids
like my nephew Henrik). He would come when I called his
name, he would roll over for you to scratch his belly if he
liked you, and he would sit on any lap that appeared to him. He would run to the door to greet me whenever I came home,
even if it was in the middle of the night when I was working
on oilrigs in Texas. However, in his last few years, he was
weaker and stopped running to the door to greet me. Instead,
when I came home, he would raise his head from his nap and
gesture with his head in my direction to let me know he saw
me. He had some wonderful noises, particularly the chirping.
However, as he became more ill, he would open his mouth to
meow, but no sound would come out.
Stinky traveled all over with me. He lived in Texas and
Oklahoma (briefly), Boston, and for the last 5 years, he
resided with me in Manhattan. He vacationed occasionally on
Cape Cod. As my mother has noted, Stinky was the smartest
cat, as he even attended Harvard Business School with me. We
endured a 24 hour drive from Tulsa to Boston to get there.
That was quite a trip.
On the rare occasions that I spent money to buy him an
expensive cat toy, he could care less. He preferred instead
the toys that are free; the blue plastic ring that you pull
off to open a plastic jug of milk, the twisty tie on a loaf
of bread, the thin belt on my favorite suit. He also very
much enjoyed watching the birds outside the window. He
seemed to be a hunter in his earlier years, but as I learned
first hand, when it came around to real mice, he was not a
good protector.
At his peak, Stinky was 14.9 pounds. He was never fat, just
very sturdy and solid. He was quite a formidable sight to
see. However, when he died he weighed only 6 pounds. It was
too much for me to bear.
Every doctor I ever went to told me I had to get rid of the
cat due to my asthma and allergies. I knew they were right,
but I wouldn’t even consider it. They will be pleased now,
but it will be a little while before I can breathe easier.
Stinky was a wonderful cat and companion and I will miss him
dearly. Thank you to everyone who pet him, rubbed his belly,
or let him sit on your lap. I know he appreciated it.
Cecily
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