Conan was my best friend
I suspect it is a little odd for most people to see the phrase "best friend" when talking about a cat, but pet-lovers know it is not that far-fetched. In my case, the last real human friend I made was in the late 1990s. After that, my circumstances in life did not allow me to develop any new best friends. Very good acquaintances at times, but no long-lasting friends (besides my wife, which is in a different category of more-than-platonic friend). My oldest friends from my childhood are still the ones I hang out with the most, albeit infrequently because they are not close by. That is why Conan became my best friend.
Conan in his middle-aged years. An outdoor cat that was smart enough to not go very far away from the house
From day one, after the adoption at 6 months old, Conan became attached to me. He was a very smart cat, had a little attitude (but not too much), and liked to hang around outside with me. Whether it was gardening, relaxing, or chasing critters, we enjoyed time outside together. In Wisconsin, he was allowed to walk freely outside, but when we lived in Sacramento, he had to be on a leash, which he adapted to very well. Sometimes he would walk with me around an entire city block. When I went fishing he could tell what was going on by the preparations I made. He would get upset if I did not bring some fish home for him to enjoy. He loved trout livers in particular.
One thing he did was sleep under my arm at night. Almost every night for 17 years, I would say "time for bed Conan", and he would follow me into the bedroom, or up the stairs, and curl up next to me on top of my arm. Cats are known to do this, but with Conan, it was amazing how regular it was. 17 years is 6,200 nights and Conan stuck by me for almost every one.
Conan would actually put both paws on the doorknob, but could not quite turn it enough to open
People who do not have pets or do not spend a lot of time with their pets cannot understand the connection. Even with cats, you can learn how to communicate on more than just a surface level. I truly believe Conan and I understood each other quite well. That is why it was very hard to observe his passing. Similar to the situation with Pablo, Lynx, and Sole', Conan just got old and started suffering the normal old-feline diseases. He had declines in kidney and other organ function, lack of appetite, harder time with bowel movements, degraded senses of hearing and smell, etc...
I was prepared (I thought) for the day we took Conan to the vet to meet his maker. Even though pet euthanasia is a sad occasion, I always want to be there as our old cats pass from this earth. I might shed a couple of tears, but I keep a stoic "stiff upper lip". It was the same with Conan until...
...I uttered the words out loud "he was my best friend". Considering my temperament, it is hard to admit, even to this day, that I cried a lot.
Even in advanced age, Conan was healthy enough to jump onto the deck railing and hang out with Jean Paul
That is not the end of this story, because Conan was the inspiration for RejuveCat. I have been involved in life extension advocacy since around the year 2000. During the early heydays, there was optimism for research into human rejuvenation and in the back of my head, I thought "my cats will probably benefit from this research". At the time, I had little doubt that within 15 years there would be enough research and development of various therapies that Conan could end up being the longest-lived domestic cat in history. The years went by and progress was slow. I was sure someone would make a breakthrough, for people or pets.
Conan died in 2016.
As it turns out, quality medical research is quite difficult and expensive. Institutional bias against treating aging as a disease is well-ingrained within health bureaucracies. This headwind and a lack of funding meant longevity researchers had to "scratch and claw" to make any progress over the course of 15 years. Even after Conan died, I thought that proven rejuvenation therapies were right around the corner. This has not been the case. In 2020, I figured someone had to do something. I rarely make New Year's resolutions, but in 2020 I resolved to start a company to help speed the development of therapies for elderly cats and other companion animals. Thus RejuveCat.
Conan’s life was as bright as his fur.