Rascal: Climber of Ladders & Eater of Frogs

Today, Barry and I had to put our friend, Rascal, to sleep. He was 17 years old and his health was failing.
I got Rascal when he "followed me home" at just a few weeks old when I was 11. I say "followed" as in I found a litter of kittens near a friends house and I wanted this one. I knew if I told my parents that I knew where he came from and that he had a mom, they wouldn't let me keep him.
Of course, they objected. I named him Kit and my mom tried to give him away at a yardsale. Luckily for me, no one picked him up. A few days later, we had to take him to the vet. He was so anemic from all of the fleas that he just fell over when we touched him. After spending "a large fortune" (probably about $50), my mom decided we should keep him.
He lived with me and my parents and when I moved out, he stayed with them. When they moved to Minnesota, he came to live with Barry and me. He liked to escape too much and as my mom put it "She didn't want to have to shoot some dog for eating her cat." So, he stayed with us.

He came with us as we crossed the country and met some new cats (which he tolerated and sometimes whooped some butt!).
It was hard to see him go and he will be missed very much.
It was a hard decision to make, but we feel it was the right thing to do. He lived a long and happy life and didn't deserve to suffer. We went into it not knowing as much as we should have. If you have a pet, please read the below website to be prepared should this happen to you and your friend.
http://www.specialneedspets.org/euthanasia.htm