Greetings Steemit Felines and Humans!

Slightly different approach today. This post has multiple sources of inspiration; at first, I was going to do another post in my "cats we've known" series, but then I came across @phoenixwren's "Hug Contest" post from a few days ago (check it out, you still have a couple of days to enter!), and then I was reminded again by visiting @lyndsaybowes' blog where she posted this marvelous post filled with adorable kittens... at which point I knew precisely which "cats we've known" I wanted to feature!

This is Orange and Kramer:

Orange and Kramer, sometime in 2012

Whereas they are no longer with us, they were probably as close to best friends and soul mates as you can get with cats.

Kramer was already close to being a "senior citizen cat" when Orange joined us as a 10-week old kitten. However, he immediately took the little guy under his wing, and they were pretty much inseparable. 

They fact that they were both male cats made no difference. 

Kramer would always groom Orange when he was a kitten; as Orange became a fully grown cat, they were always cuddled up together, and would groom each other.

And much of the time, they were definitely "hugging" in the cat sense of the word.

Sadly, Orange passed away suddenly from an acute urinary tract infection not even all the vet's resources and several thousand dollars could do anything about... in just 48 hours he went from seemingly healthy to gone.

He was only four years old

Orange and Kramer, napping together

Kramer lived on to about 15 years of age — about another year — but was never quite the same after his best friend had departed.

So, I'll finish by suggesting that you hug those you love, while you can... because life is surprisingly fragile and uncertain!

Hope you have had a beautiful weekend!

=^..^=