My cat Fido died on Wednesday, June 9, at his vet’s office after a short and brutal battle with heart failure. He loved sunbeams, cuddling, and especially his littermate brother Tulum.

Everyone who met him — especially the wonderful doctors, nurses, and staff who treated him successfully in 2018 for pancreatic cancer —loved him. He was taking a whole bunch of medications twice a day these past three weeks, and he almost never complained. He was 18 years old, which is a good long life for a cat but still seems somehow like never enough.

So you’ll understand if I raise a toast to him in private this week.

Hug your pets.