Obituaries

Hansel “The Poofoot” Sebek was adopted from STAR Rescue in Gainesville Florida, along with his sister Greta when they were 4 months old. He ran up to us and put his paw on us when we picked him up, thus claiming us as parents.

When he was first adopted, he had indigestion and would step in his loose poo, tracking it around in little paw prints. We would wipe his paws clean and he soon learned to come find us so we could clean his paws if he stepped in his poo again. We quickly figured out his diet and stopped the loose poo, but forever he carried the name “Poofoot” or “Poofies” for short.

Hansel was a very special cat. He was very smart, always trying to figure out how to make our home a better place. He was in tune to everyone’s emotions and quickly comforted anyone who was feeling off. He was our buddy. He was always by your side, seeing how he could help. He made sure we stayed on schedule whether it was feeding time, playtime or time to sit on a lap on the couch.

Hansel was there to greet us whenever we came home. He snuggled us to sleep with his purrs and was typically ready for the day by the time we woke in the morning. We taught Hansel and his sister Greta to meow when they had just been adopted and he continued to learn a diverse vocabulary of meows and coos to let us know all of the different thoughts and feelings that he was having.

The first time we tried to dress Hansel, was as Yoda for Halloween. Initially, he didn’t seem to like it, but once he saw that we were all dressing up he gave in and embraced the fun. After that, he didn’t mind running around in a costume for the Halloween festivities. When Hansel was older, we put him in T-shirts while he was healing from surgery and we bought him a sweater that seemed to bring him comfort as he lost weight towards the end.

Hansel liked to play and interact. He had balls and mice that he would fetch, along with wands, feathers, and stuffies. There is a toy basket and sometimes we would see him sifting through the basket until he found the perfect toy, then he would take off tossing it and chasing it.

Hansel would greet people when they would enter the house and he would inspect every bag to ensure that his nose didn’t miss anything. If we weren’t careful, he could get into a bread bag and start eating the bread within a matter of seconds. He loved the sound of crinkling plastic and was playful with his treats. His mom taught him how to jump on his hind legs and grab a treat out of your hand. He also liked to chase his treats and play with the hide-a-treat games.

Hansel’s sister and littermate Greta proceeded him across the rainbow bridge a few months earlier. He is survived by his Mom & Dad, and his adopted sister cat Mila. We will miss Hansel our “Poofies” forever, both him and Greta. They brought us so much happiness and laughter, we feel the void from their departure and hope that their memories will carry on their legacy of love and laughter.

Everyone should have a Hansel in their lives and we feel so grateful to have had him in ours.