Proxy the Cat sleeping, oil on canvas, in memoriam.  Proxy was a magnificent, noble cat, with a penchant for yowling in the shower where it really made a loud noise early in the morning.  We had him for seventeen years.  Like all cats, he spent a lot of time sleeping.  When younger he liked to sleep curled in the bathroom sink, or in the closet.  Later he wrapped himself around the base of the toilet or if the house was quiet, on the bed.  The bed was his spot in later years.  In addition to his unique coloration, he had huge crystalline, light blue eyes.  His pink noise and toes gradually freckled over the years.  Although he had no front claws and was neutered and was a sedate house cat, he still knew how to intimidate the neighborhood cats with his eighteen pounds of heft (although it was quite a sight to see him run and all that heft swaying back and forth).  I miss the way he would come rub his head on my leg, and he would hit so hard his head would make a "thwack" sound.  My wife misses the way he would hang around her neck when he was younger as she did her chores, or watch from inside the cupboards.  She was his mamma - he would impatiently wait for her to finish with her dinner in bed with her tray so he could sleep on her.  Once the tray was put away, he'd knead on her leg in a curious prancing step for a long period, and eventually throw himself down in a big galumph once he found a good sleeping spot or edge. The only good thing about him getting old was he could no longer hear the vacuum cleaner so was not bothered by it and could actually be vacuumed.  We'll miss him.