Farewell to an old Kitty

March 21, 2011

4 days till 50. I’m not as bummed as I thought I would be

A farewell to Lucky the kitty that lived at my parent’s house. I never really knew him, he usually hid when visitors came over, his name was actually Bennie, my mom and dad called him Kitty, but I called him Lucky. I got to know him a little when I moved in. I would see him in the morning around 6:00 am when I fed the mama cat, he would slowly walk over and stare at me, stare at the dish, and I would get him the wet food. He usually had ½ a can in the fridge, which puzzled me because Lucky barely weighed 5 lbs but mom said he was 18 and was getting ready to die. He would eat the can and while I was eating my breakfast and would stare at me and I would always open a new can and he would eat it all. Eventually I would give him whatever was left at night when I took my shower, and we would have a little chat and scratch.

He used to sleep in the closet where I’m staying and when I closed the door at night he used to tap the door to come in and tap it to go out. He started sleeping in the shower and my mom said he goes in there to drink the water. He looked really old and moved really slow and if he felt annoyed he would slowly walk away.

He loved my mom and dad, when my mom was in the hospital he cried every night at her bed and that really hit home with my dad and made my mom’s absence real. When mom came home Lucky was happy and stayed by her side. When mom got better he would sit on the couch between them until it was time for bed and let them know it was time for lights out.

The last couple of weeks I knew his time was about over, when I fed and sang with the Mama cat (who is a feral cat I had spayed) he would watch from the door, and last Thursday he sauntered over and ate from the mama cat’s food and the Mama cat moved over and let him eat, I was really touched by this, and it was the last time I saw him really involved in his surroundings. Friday morning he looked at me a usual but there seemed to be sadness about him, he didn’t sing like normal and he kept eating and drinking real slow. When I came home that night he was missing and came out late at night, and slept in his litter box. He slept the rest of the weekend and stayed in one spot, and didn’t respond when stroked. Sunday night we all knew he wasn’t happy and it was time. Monday he saw a vet and joined the universe. I remembered I had taken a photo of him and got some copies and the reality hit home he was leaving. This morning I said goodbye and by 10:00 he was gone, the idea he might be throw in the trash bothered my mom so arrangements were made to have him cremated with other kitties and ashes spread in the mountains.

Finally, why I called him Lucky, my sister got a cat and was living with a sociopath when she couldn’t take it she moved in with my parents, this was about 15 years ago. The cat got out and my sister was very upset and called the pound daily. Finally she got a call the cat was there and came home. The Cat took to the surroundings especially my parents, when they were petting him they noticed he had no claws, the wrong Kitty came home, but since the new kitty bonded with my parents and my sister didn’t notice the difference. He stayed, a comfort to my parents, a sometime companion to my sister, and a part of the family. The house seems empty without you Lucky, I truly hope you didn’t suffer anymore than you wanted to, and I appreciate you letting us know it was time