Friday, January 24, 2014

LAMENT FOR OUR CAT




 
The first of a thousand kisses


Wednesday we had to put down our baby.  She was eighteen years old and she had wasted away until she could not stand.   She wasn't a pet - we have no close family or friends; for years it has been just the three of us.   She was family.

She was so much a part of our routine that it will take a while to adjust.  If I got up in the morning before my wife, she didn't like it –a Ragdoll breed she was very vocal.   My wife would have to get up first and the two of them would go down stairs.   She would sit by the door as my wife used the bathroom.  The two of them would then go into the kitchen and she would wait patiently while my wife prepared her morning meal.   

It seemed that all of our daily routines included Dixie.   Our couch is a two-seater: that means one cushion for my wife and one for the cat.   She would be very aggravated if I took her place beside my wife.   I was expected to stay in my easy-chair.


Nap time for sisters: my girls


She and my wife interacted all day and she followed her everywhere.   She liked attention from me and would flee to me when she was scared.   But she was my wife’s baby-girl.



I held her in my arms (that’s where she wanted to be) as she was injected and she went limp.   Those beautiful blue eyes went black as the pupils dilated: at restful peace.   Afterwards my wife and I spent the day out – away from the house.  We had dinner at a local restaurant and returned home about seven. 

How strange it was to walk into the house and not be met by her at the door.   It felt like we were in some negative parallel universe or the cold reflection of our house inside a mirror.

We will move on; but she will, as she has been for so many years, be an integral part of us.  






11 comments:

  1. I am so sad for you two..I can't imagine the pain you and your wife are in..Goddess bless you both and your sweet girl.













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  2. My cat Sugar was also Siamese. She lived to be very old and we had to put her to sleep in her final days. She was my friend and her passing impacted me worse than losing some of my human relatives. I share your loss and I am sorry for it.

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  3. Some people don't grasp the magnitude of your loss. They have children, or to them a cat is...well...just a cat. We lost our Bashful in 2008. We have Butterscotch and Precious but there is no Bashful there anymore. Except sometimes I imagine she's here watching over us all.

    Sorry for your loss.

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  4. It's heard when they go. But what a wonderful life she had with you and your wife, a long life full of love!

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  5. She was a good kitty kitty. Cats seem to be so much more evolved than humans, which makes it special to be in their world. I'm sorry she's no longer here Buzz.

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  6. I've suffered the loss of more than one feline family member. I know your pain and yet I don't. Nevertheless, I share your grief. She was beautiful.

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