He was;

Almost ten years old and always the star of the show.
So, so black that I could never photograph him in a way that showed any of his beautiful features.
A practical joker who completely understood comic timing and the element of surprise.
Heidi's small and beloved brother and playmate, I don't think she knows yet that he has gone.
Spouseman's little buddy who spent his first winter in the armpit of his dressing gown.
Nursemaid to big dog Homer when he had been over-anaesthetised and was lying still and cold.
Fearsome assailant to rats, snakes and elastic bands, never one got away.
Terrified of Southerly winds and running engines.
Our only Tom.
Famously castrated twice.
Taz, Tazwold, Fang – Prince of Darkness, Cat-wheezle, The Black Malaka, Whinging Tom, Tiddly-om-pom-Tom, Snake-hips.
I never thought I would feel this way about a cat until I met this one, and then it became inevitable.

The list goes on and on. We don't know what happened, he lay down and died just outside the window and we buried him beneath an olive tree.