Walter and his Cat

Walter and his Cat.
Someone posted his picture on a LJ community I'm a member of, I don't think I should link to that community, or to the flickr account it was on, but I'm going to assume that everyone online has seen his picture already.

EDIT: The original poster of the picture has kindly given me permission to provide a link to the original picture. Here you go: [link]

Anyway, no, it isn't a perfect portrait, but a DA search shows that NO ONE has drawn poor Walter and his Cat yet, and that is just wrong.
I think it is pretty good for something done quickly, and by someone on pain medication. I think I captured the look of weary resignation in the Cat's eyes fairly well.

I just think Walter and his Cat are so fucking sweet together, and -it may be the pain medication I'm on, or it may be the fact that I lost my little Ryry cat recently- but I almost started crying earlier when I thought about the probability that Walter's Cat had died since the time the picture was taken ('95), and how miserable Walter would be without his cat. And how, if the Cat wasn't dead by now, it was probably very old and suffering from kidney malfunction, and Walter has to give him lactated Ringer's solution subcutaneously every night and tears roll down his face as he sticks the needle in the scruff of the Cat's neck, but he keeps talking in a happy voice to the Cat so it won't be upset. And he buys the Cat all its favorite treats and tries to get it interested in playing with its old toys, and just generally tries to make its last few months happy ones, but the Cat is old and sick and depressed and doesn't have much enthusiasm for anything anymore.

EDIT: I'm sure the reality was nowhere near as bleak as I imagined, but I like to imagine back stories to go with pictures of strangers, and even though it is a depressing story I'm leaving it in the description.