Lady RIP (2002-2018)

I meet her just over 16 years ago. Debbie at work had a cat with a litter. So she was giving away kittens. I had a soft spot for them, so I got one. She arrived on a Saturday, her emerald green eyes all ablaze at the trip and her new home. From the start she was very different. She might be a kitten but she would be no little girl. She had a way, a bearing and a look that said she might be a cat but she was no push over. The way she walked and the way she carried herself sad to me, even at her young age, this is no girl, she is a Lady. Thus how she was named. She was met with the usual cat hostilities from Squeaky, a solid build cat, like a boxer really, small but muscles and toughness over flowing. They would soon be wrestling. In fact, he was so strong I would break them up, fearing in their play he would hurt her. So they would fight on my floor but they would not make a sound. Even today, my cats do not make any noise when they play fight. Otherwise I stop them. Then there was “LB” The old man of the house. He was 15. Look up the word “Stoic; in the dictionary and you will see him. She would hiss at him and he would just sit there. She would make to hit him and he would just sit there. In fact, he never hissed back nor hit her at all. He would just be there. He would pass on later on that year. Rip old age of 15 is 88 in human years so he had a good long cat life. I wonder if cats think we are immortal? They arrive, we are there and when they die, we remain to mourn their passing. The “boys” soon let her into their club and let her play with them. She being a kitten would be the trouble maker and they would as more stately gentlemen play with her much to my amusement if not their own fun. A few months after LB passed, on a morning where Squeaky was as his usual play, waking me up by fighting with my feet, Mother was so taken by it she took pictures of him playing with them. That afternoon, he lied down in the sun upon her bed and simply passed on to the next world. Two cats, lost in a year, are never fun. We soon remedied that by bringing my sisters cat. We called her “Little One” because she was so tiny. She would grow up and be fat but she was fun to have around. She was a trouble maker but she sure did not like to get it in return. They would chase her and she would run, only to come back later for more fun. Then came Holly, super small, the runt of the litter but loved all the same. Always small and still is. Her mother had the litter out of season, in January of the coldest year. But that cat was smart. She had the litter behind a pet food store. Soon they had rescued the liter and given them shelter. So when I was offered my kitten, three weeks old, I said “Yes.” See I had a black cat and I was told this one would be orange. Black and orange, all the colors of Halloween, hence she was named Holly. I had to feed her by syringe to make sure she was feed. That is until one day, when I was feeding her; Little One came to taste her meal. He tongue came out to lap some up but it was not to her taste so she moved on. Holly’s eyes were glued watching this approaching beast. Not in fear but in wonder. What was she doing to my food? She was licking it? So she squirmed and I put her down. She ran to the food and tasted it. Hey this is good. She had learned to feed herself. She would soon be getting Kitten food next to the adult bowl. The only difference is the size of the food really. That is until no one was looking, Then we little Holly would steal a piece of the adult food and crunch into it.

For years the three got along. Except, alas poor I, I was surrounded by females. Feeling outnumbers I found a male cat from another work place. He was a total barbarian to the girls. So I named him Eric, short for “Eric the Red” as he was a bright red. And he was big. The breed is called Maine Coon and this one was near 4 feet from nose to tail. Big and heavy. He would run after our little runt, Holly, and she would flee to my door. Only one day she stopped too swiftly for Eric and he ran right over her. No he does not push her over, or hit her in any way. He ran right over her. She was standing and he was standing all around her like a babushka doll. When I told mother about Holly whimpering, Mother said she was always a wimp. I told Mother if someone ran over me that way I might whimper too. There we were four cats, and frankly the house was busy at petting time and food time and bed time too. Each had their own personality. Like Little One would sleep in the food bowl. Not next to it or around it. Nope, her head would be in the food and she would sleep there. Lady would hate to jump up so whenever she chased Little One for being a pain, the only escape was to run and jump up somewhere. Eric was but he was not allowed to be mean so he turned out to be a gentle cat. That is unless he was wrestling with Lady. Did you know there is a cat Judo? Lady held a black belt. Eric weighed double hers and his body was easily twice her size. Yet he wanted to be the Alpha male in the house, he had to answer to the “Boss.” Lady would never allow him to take her position. He would try to fight with her. The word “try” is key. She would lie on the ground letting him come lord over her! That is until she would take both paws and grab his head and turned. Where his head went so did the rest of his body. And with a mighty thump he would be slammed to the ground. Now they were playing so no noise was made but you could hear the thump of his fall. After watching her flip him three times in a row, I had to stop it. I feared she would hurt him. Not the other way around.

Along the ride, rules were set. No cats on the table. No fighting between the cats. No hogging the food (Sorry Little One!). But time passed and soon caught up with us. Little One was the first to go. She was not moving, in a coma of sorts. So we picked her up and covered her to keep her warm. The other three cats came by. I petted her so she knew someone was there and she passed on in the night. A few years later, was Eric’s turn. He was in pain such that he cried out in the middle of the night. I would have brought him to the Vet but over the course of an hour from whence he made me aware of his problem, he too was gone. That was 10 months ago. So I was down to but two girls cats. Mother said the two seemed to be in a funk. So New years Day I purchased a new little girl. Her name was shadow. She was all black, sort of brown in the sun and she was fun. She got the other two busy again.

Lady was feeling her age. She stopped eating the hard food, and after trial and error we figured out how to feed her. She would only eat soft food. If we left it on the floor the new cat would eat it all (seemingly in one gulp!) Since Shadow does not like to jump up anywhere, we put the food on the counter. Holly would still eat some but only a bit. Lady could not jump up to the counter anymore. Not like she would have even as a kitten. So she needed an elevator service. In case you are wondering that “elevator service?” That would be me. So in the morning when I stirred she would yell at me to get out of bed for food. I would put her up let her eat then after a while bring her down cause she could not jump down. I would do this every two hours or so all day long. She was so used to yelling at me, she would yell for food, she would yell for water and then for no reason at all until I picked her up and held her for a while. I did that a lot. In the last days I think she stopped eating. She would pick then yell to be let down.

So this week; her last day, I came home from work. She could no longer walk. It was time. We both knew it. But it so broke my heart to bring her to the vet but I could not let her suffer. I would not let her suffer. I ate my lunch and feed her some cheese. She loved cheese and chicken. She had both for lunch that day. I got her settled in Mother’s arms and I drove. She stared at me the whole time. I parked the car and took her in my arms. In we went. A nice lady stopped and petted her and remarked bow beautiful her eyes were. She was always such a pretty cat. So I held her tight, petting her and crying, until my number was called. But I knew, in the waiting to be called she passed on. Held in arms, that she loved to be held in. Who loved to hold her too. By someone, I hope she in her cat like brain understood, loved her very much as well. I told the receptionist I was there to verify my cat had died. She did not make us wait. We saw a doctor. Rigour Mortis was setting in. But he checked her heart just for show I think. He could tell. She was dead. They asked if I wanted to keep her collar. My cats lived their lives with those bells, and if the collar was removed they would wait for it back. They did not have much but that collar was theirs and they understood that. Just like the bed I slept in was theirs during the day so get up it is their time to use it should I dare sleep in too late for their opinion.

And so we came home to a house that is much quieter now. No one yells at me. She would when she wanted come to my door and yell at me. I used to worry about what she was doing but I figured out she wanted me to pick her up and pet her. She hated heights but she would get picked up two or three times a day because she would yell at me for no reason. Well she had a reason; she wanted to hugged, cuddled and petted. No there is no one who pushes me away from the dropped food items. In the morning, I hear no feline alarm call. The other two cats are healthy and happy. They miss her too, I think so anyways. I know I still miss her. In the end, she may have thought we humans are immortal. We were here when she arrived. And we are still here after she left. Someone has to immortalize her name. In the end, she is always a lady to me.

Rest in Peace Lady

She was my friend but she will always be MY cat.