Sixteen and a half years ago in the week preceding Labor Day, while picking up following a day parking cars for the county fair, I heard a little "mewing" sound. I turned around in my wheelchair just in time to see this tiny little kitten scamper up to me, and without a single bit of hesitation, she jumped up into my lap, then onto my shoulder, where she began nuzzling and purring in my ear. Here was a young lady who knew what she wanted...I didn't stand a chance..she came, she saw, she conquered...a feline Julius Caesar. She never stopped being my furry best buddy, a real Daddy's girl. As my disability progressed and I needed more and more help getting into my bed, she became my wife's "supervisor", coming into my room and jumping on the bed, and switching her position with each step of the process, watching intently. When she was satisfied that I was safe and secure, she would jump down and do what I assumed was a nightly patrol, eventually returning to me and settling in with me to snuggle for a good portion of the remaining night. This was the nightly routine for YEARS...but lately we noticed she was moving a lot slower and she was a lot less sharp than she used to be, often seeming to lose focus. We basically allowed for the fact that she was an old lady in cat years. But after a short period of time, we made an appointment with the vet. These past few days, she really started going downhill..to the point where she was sleeping in a corner of the dining room instead of her nightly routine with me. However, yesterday morning, on the day of her vet appointment, she came up on the bed and lay on my chest for awhile, purring away. I felt in my heart she was saying goodbye. Sure enough, the vet confirmed the worst..very bad liver and intestinal issues, and a strong possibility of cancer. There was a procedure he could've done, but he said in his 20 years, it had only been successful a couple of times. In addition, it was quite possible she would not survive the operation, and recovery period. Add to that the pain she was in but didn't display until the last few days. So we made the gut-wrenching decision to part ways with my sweet girl. My son is visiting to help out with a lengthy household project, and as always when he's here for a lengthy stay, he brings his kitty with him. She's a cool kitty, but she's completely attached to him, although my wife will do in a pinch. She is too wary of my power chair to warm up to me, though.
So when my son returns home, for the first time in over 50 years (not counting the time I was away at college, or the year directly following my graduation from said institution), I will be living in a home without at least one kitty. Bye Bye, little Freya. I will never not miss your presence. If you've made it here to the end, thanks for letting me get this out...it helps.
"#$%&@*&"-Donald F. Duck
