occasionally sighing;
now she sighs no more.
Eighteen years ago, Jim came home and asked me if we could take in another cat. A she-cat had birthed a litter under a co-workers porch. All but the black kitten had been adopted.
Of course, I said we could use a third black cat; we drove over and Pyewacket became our cuddly kittie. She lived a good life and enjoyed rolling on warm pavers during the summer.
Last week her health took a turn for the worse; she stumbled as she walked and stopped eating. Whenever she could, she slowly crawled onto our laps and curled into a ball. Jim and I have been sitting on the couch cuddling her a lot. She breathed her last around 5 am this morning.
Pyewacket looks just like my cat Spike.
My condolences, Lucia.
“St. Francis said, ‘those who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity will deal likewise with their fellow man.’ The Catholic Tradition respects animals as God’s creatures, worthy of our care. While the Catholic Church has no dogma about the ultimate fate of animals, some theologians have speculated that all creation, including animals, will be made new in the end.”
http://www.churchyear.net/pets.html
Andrew
A bittersweet day.
Eighteen happy years for a cat
Now, sweet memories
Thanks Andrew and Tim.
We always bury our animals and then plant a flowering shrub over them with the blooms timed for when the died. I need to find something with pretty blooms. My peonies are blooming; another might do well.
You might want to consider a Korean Spice bush. They bloom now and have a very nice aroma.
Tim W. That’s looks wonderful!
Lucia, I am so sorry for your loss. Reminds me of my kitty who lived until she was 22yrs old.
RIP Pyewacket.
I am sorry Lucia.
We lost our Kerasoula three years ago , and I still miss her. She was a stray that adopted us and became a house cat.
I call pets “programmed sorrow”, since they live shorter lives than us in the best conditions :(. Nevertheless they they do enrich our lives and are worth it.
anna v
Yes. But it’s also sad if we pass before they do! About 7 years ago, my father’s dog died. He decided he couldn’t get another one because he might die first. My sister volunteered she would take the dog in that event– but Dad still lived dog-less for a while. (The assisted living facility has a house dog, and my sister brings her dogs over to play. So, that’s actually nice for Dad!)
Also quite like my black one. Sorry to hear she’s gone. They become so much a part of the family. When our last cat died I kept imagining for weeks I could hear her purring, especially at night, and then I’d realise her small weight was missing from “cat valley” (the sag in the duvet).
Verity
Lucia,
The love in which you and your family held Pyewacket was a great blessing for the cat, as well as you.
Let me add my condolences. When our pets die they leave such a hole in our hearts. It’s so hard.
Having been through a similar scenario just recently, I can understand the empty feeling you must have . . it is quite amazing how cats get us involved in their lives.
Really sorry to hear about that. Our cat loves the warm pavers too.
This has always helped me:
And God asked the feline spirit,
“Are you ready to come home?”
“Oh, yes, quite so,” replied the precious soul,
“And, as a cat, you know I am most able to decide anything for myself.”
“Are you coming then?” asked God.
“Soon,” replied the whiskered angel,
“But I must come slowly, for my human friends are troubled
For, you see, they need me, quite certainly.”
“But don’t they understand?” asked God, “That you’ll never leave them? That your souls are intertwined. For all eternity? That nothing is created or destroyed? It just is….forever and ever and ever.”
“Eventually they will understand,” replied the glorious cat,
“For I will whisper into their hearts that I am always with them,
I just am….forever and ever and ever.”
Condolences, Lucia. I’m a cat person too and have loved and buried 2 of them. Burials are sad, but I prefer them to cremation; it’s always nice to go sit by the marker or bush and think about them.
And I echo the sentiment voiced here by Tim; as long as their lives were happy and long, I can feel I’ve done a good job as a pet owner, and let go.
BTW Tim, that was such a beautiful haiku I’m willing to overlook the extra syllable in the middle line. 🙂
RE: Douggerell (Comment#42360)
Thanks — I’ve never been good at counting. . . one, two, five (err three)
Our condolences also. We just recently lost our 15 yo tabby – he just never came back from his daily wanderings. He was a dumpster kitten brought home by one of the kids and stuck with us through multiple moves. Always an indoor/outdoor cat (and house trained), he had ears that looked like a road map. He would always bump aside the book that you were reading to have you scratch his latest scar even though the aggressiveness was supposedly “removed” early in his life. They come, they go
WRT to Tim W. I always thought it was one, two, many, lots
I can’t imagine how sad it must be, Lucia…
Pets might be “programmed sorrow” but I would have never believed the sheer amount of affection a cat can literally emanate.
There is enough Love therein to warrant a free pass into Heaven, I am sure.
ps my cat too (6) looks like the exact twin of Pyewacket in that picture
Well, sorry to hear about that. Having never had or owned a cat, but many friends having them and lost them over time, they felt a great loss, so sorry once again. Circle of life.
Condoleances Lucia .
It is very sad when a close living being disappears because it cuts a link to our roots and to our past .
But even if annaV is right , life is about giving and receiving so if cats go to heaven , the balance will be right .
If there are no cats and dogs in heaven, when I die I want to go where they went!
Lucia, sounds more like a cry-ku …
I am sorry to hear that, I recently also lost a cat who I loved dearly
Black cat
lived with love
leaves quietly
Thanx for sharing Lucia. Pets are really wonderful people and role models. They help us to understand the circle, and open our hearts.
Blessings
Condolences, lucia, from a fellow cat lover who has faced and will face this many times.
She’s all curled up and
Licked by Mama Lucia.
We’ve got three kittens.
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