Earl the Dead Cat Dead Plush Cat Toy

Earl the Dead Cat has been with me for my most of my life.

My father got one as a gag gift around the time that I was born in 1988. Baby me took to it fondly, I suppose for it's "feel" more than anything else. Earl and I were inseparable. I have family video of Earl tied around my neck like a cape as I bound through the house. I would wrap him around my arm while sleeping to make a pillow. I've had him as long as I can remember. I teethed on his ears, chewed off his tongue, and through countless adventures and washing Earl became a little worse-for-wear... but he didn't have much stuffing to begin with, so my mom would simply sew him back up if he ripped. He now chills inside my parent's fire-safe, next to my birth certificate.

I have a deep sentimental attachment to this "dead cat." So I found and bought one for my dad a few years back for Father's day. Now my wife is due with our first child, April 16th 2013, and I will continue this macabre tradition. My son will have his own Earl the dead cat. The best cat a kid can have.