Persephone

As some of you already know, one of my cats abruptly died on Friday.  She was lethargic and hadn't eaten anything all of Thursday, so I became worried about her.  I brought her in first thing on Friday morning and the vet told me she was running a fever.  I left her there for tests and told them I'd come and pick her up that afternoon.  After a couple of hours, I received a phone call from the vet with "tragic news".  He proceeded to tell me that she started developing respiratory issues and they had to incubate her.  Some time afterward, she went into cardiac arrest and they attempted to resuscitate her.  The vet didn't know what was wrong and asked permission to do a necropsy.  I haven't heard back on the results of that yet.

Persephone was only with me for a few months.  I adopted her when she was about 8 months old.  She was semi-feral when they brought her in, spayed her, and set her up for adoption.  I chose her because she was a playful and curious cat who lit up when I put my fingers in her cage.  She took to her new home very quickly and within a day was prancing about like she owned the place.  And she did, a place in my heart.

I remember a lot of little things about her.  I remember how high she could jump but how poorly she landed.  She learned to swat food right out of my hand when she wanted it, and she would have an entire bag of my beef jerky in her mouth and off the couch faster than I could react.  She also learned how to jump up on my banister (a good 36-inch jump) and it became her queen of the jungle perch.  She chirped but rarely meowed.  She could stand up on her hind legs if she wanted to.  She used my fish tank as an interactive television.  She always sat next to me on the couch while watching tv and slept at the foot of my bed most nights.  I really miss her.

I cried when I found out she died.  I mean I really lost it as soon as I got to my car.  It was a rough day.  Some people may make light of a person's affection for their animals, but don't underestimate that affection.  I think in some ways animals can be closer to you than people.  They'll never hurt you, they're always by your side, they don't judge you, and you'll always be their daddy or mommy.  It's been a rough couple of years for me and adopting my two kitties helped get me through a lot of it.  It's hard to feel lonely and unloved when you have a purring kitty in your face vying for your attention!

People go through grief in different ways and at different paces.  Though I'm not through my paces yet, I am thinking of adopting another cat.  I don't know if it's too soon or how Isis will react to her, but I know she senses the loss of her friend.  I always wanted two in the house to take care of each other when I wasn't around. 

When I think about her short life, it gives me comfort to know that her life was better when it came into mine.  I know a cat has simple needs, but I think she had a pretty good life while she was with me.  I think I can bring that same happiness to another cat without a home.

When I'm ready.