Today I had to say goodbye to the love of my life. When I was just 19 years old I came home from work and as walked to my front door I was greeted by a stray cat that had taken residence at my house. As I began to pet her I realized that she was pregnant! I, being a major cat lover, was thrilled. We were having kittens!! I asked mama kitty (which I had named Jill because the other kitty that lived in the home was named Jack---clever, I know!) if I could keep one of her kittens.
She was thrilled her babies were going to be adopted! Several months or weeks (I have no idea what a cat's gestation period is) 4 little kittens were born. 2 boys (orange tabbies & 2 girls -Grey Tabbies). From the moment I went to see the kittens I realized that one was a runt. Right away this little runt came up to me (eyes still closed) and began to lick my flip flop wearing toes. From that moment on I knew there was something special about this little kitty. He was clearly more intelligent than the other 3. How I knew this, I have no idea, but it was evident Not just to me, but to everyone who met the kittens. I knew from day one that he would be my special little buddy.
Next it was time to name the little guy. Which I thought would be fairly easy, considering everything had a name in my life, including my car. But for whatever reason a name did not come easy. He was kitty for much longer than I care to admit! Finally one day I was upstairs and I heard this beautiful piano music coming from the downstairs bedroom. Wondering who was playing the keyboard I wandered into the room to see this little ginger kitty playing on the keyboard. Somehow he had managed to turn on the keyboard and it was playing some kind of pre-installed music. Thus the genesis of his name, Sir Elton. Sadly, even to this day it's one of my least favorite names for him, but by default it was better than kitty...I think?
Since I had Sir E from day one, I wanted him to be a traveling kitty. I would put him in my purse take him to the super market...he hated the car! From day one! Ugh...making my kitty a world traveler was going to be harder than I initially thought. 13 years later he still meows his head off and hates the car. Clearly he was going to train me not the other way around...yep typical cat!
Since I was in college I spent a lot of time studying. Studying was counterproductive to Sir E's agenda. He would play with my pens, markers, sleep on books and wake me up early in the morning to play. For one month straight he would wake me up at 4 am to "play"! This little kitty did not lack on personality!
Sir Elton has always believed he is the most important thing in the room. When I was a poor college student I had a corded telephone (like home phone---remember those?). When I would talk on the phone to my then boyfriend, Sir E would go to the phone and touch the button to hang up the phone. Not once, not twice, almost every time I was on the phone. He was not a fan of me NOT giving me my 100% all the time. People didn't believe that "my cat hung up the phone".
Another idiosyncrasy little Sir E had was taking baths. Not in me giving him a bath (he hated those). He just had this weird obsession with water. In his defense I will say that we did live in a really weird house, where our living room was a swimming pool. Literally when you walked into the foyer of our house, it lead to our living room which was a swimming pool! So I sometimes credit his fondness for water to his early exposure to our "living room".
But bath time was something special. I like to take baths...I almost never take a shower & Sir E likes to join me. Every single day (up until his death) he would join me in the bathroom, play with the bath water for a moment and then jump up on the toilet until I finished my bath. Sometimes when I jumped out he would jump in the water!
His fondness for water didn't stop with the bathtub. He had this crazy obsession with the sink. At first I was mortified. I didn't want my kitty in my sink where I brushed my teeth! However, after years (like almost 3) I gave in...like always Sir E got his way, a trait similar to his mommy! I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, even in our pet babies!
Some people say cat's don't have personalities, but clearly these people have never been owned by a cat or met Sir E. Soon after graduating from college (at just 2 years old) we moved to Saint Maarten for Medical School.
He quickly became friends with all my neighbors. In fact I had found him on several occasions eating fine meats and cheeses at my neighbor's house. I'm sure they even gave him some wine! He was one popular kitty. He made friends with all the animals and humans alike.
He didn't pass up any opportunity to get some good studying in...osmosis really!
His next little feat would be to move with me to Australia, where again he made friends with all of God's green earth! Although Sir E hates the car he has to be one of the best travelers on a plane....better than even me! He is such a perfect little plane passenger. Always so quiet. In fact most people don't even know he's on the plane, until I carry him off the plane in his little carrier and other passenger exclaim "OMG! It's a cat! Hi Kitty!"
After our time in Australia we moved back state side to North Carolina. One of the most unique qualities of Sir E is that he always comes when he is called. I have always allowed him to go outside and never feared that he wouldn't come in when called, until North Carolina. One night it was cold and snowing in NC. I had let Sir E outside. When I went to call him inside, my next door neighbor was having a party on his back patio. Me, knowing Elton would not come inside with all the noise next door went to bed. Later I went back outside to call him in and he didn't come. Completely unlike him. At this point Sir E was about 6 years old and was extremely predictable! The next morning I began to be extremely worried. The next day I went out looking for him with a bottle of treats.
In a cruel and odd coincidence I found every orange cat in a 100 mile radius! Apparently all cats like those tasty treats! Still No ELTON!! At this point I was completely worried. Where was he, was he lost, will he come back. As I went to bed that night kittyless, I left my back door open. At 2 am, I hear this loud MEOW beside my bed. There little Sir E is announcing his return. He wasn't cold or in any way bothered by his long absence, but man was I relieved.
Not long after his adventure we moved to Florida. Quickly he made friends with all the neighbors. Including our 85ish year old neighbor, who is now closer than a grandma! He absolutely loved her! I would ask him if he would like to "go to grandma's house" and he would walk with me to her front door (just down the hall of the condo building) and I would ring the door bell and she would let him in! They would hang out & then I would come back and pick him up! He was legendary, as always! Any time I traveled Sir E would go hang out with "grandma".
Sir E was never a big hunter, after all, as a vegetarian myself, I've always encouraged him to have love for all living things. I strictly enforced the rule that we don't eat living beings. This philosophy worked well until we moved to Florida when he was about 6 years old. He had never brought me anything, until he brought the mouse...then the snake! The problem with these gifts is that they were always alive. Not that I would prefer a dead mouse/snake/squirrel, truth is I would prefer them NOT to be in my house. I would promptly have a "come to Jesus" speech with Sir E, which I noticed lasted about 6 months, and then he would have a memory lapse, and boom, another live creature inside my house! Talk, 6 months pass, another creature, you get the pattern. Until one day when he brought me a Christmas present.
You see, I am not a fan of mice or really any rodent in my house, but I especially hate snakes...the truth is I am terrified!! One day I am in my bedroom working on my computer and I hear this rustling around in my living room It is December and I have a beautiful Christmas tree up. As I walk to the living room I see it...my little kitty with a gigantic snake!! I freak out, after all, what else would I do!, run to the bedroom close the door & call my boyfriend.
My boyfriend (at the time...notice ex!) works in Miami (about a 30 min away) tells me to call my next door neighbor John to come help me out. The problem with John is that he is one step away from being homosexual, so he is as terrified of snakes as I am!!
He does come over, opens the door, exclaims he doesn't see anything and we high tail it out of the house. I stay out of the house until the ex comes home. My ex-boyfriend is hungry and wondering where dinner is (notice I said EX), and I remind him that we have an unwanted guest in our home. He refuses to look for our pesky little (not so little) friend. Luckily my neighbors across the street have compassion for my completely natural fear of snakes and begin to scope every inch of the home. My ex (any wonder why?) is convinced that there is no longer a snake in my home. I remind him that the snake did not VOLUNTARILY enter our home and I'm certain he (the snake...why is it that I think slimy creatures are of the male gender?) did not open the front door and walk out!
Somehow I'm convinced (or in complete denial) that Mr. Slimy is no longer in our home. The holidays come and go, parties are had, presents are opened, decorations are taken....uh oh!! As I am happily removing ornaments from the tree my visitor (who has long overstayed his welcome) is looking straight at me!! I very calmly (it's TRUE!) say to my EX "I found our snake!" I run to the bedroom (why do I find this a safe place?). I scream to the EX that he can take the entire tree outside...ornaments and all...I'll just buy new next year!
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| I DID NOT take this photo...the EX did...even the photo is terrifying...and I know he looks little here, but he was HUGE! |
Thank you sweet little orange kitty! You are lucky you weren't a "free cat to good home" on Craigslist!
The other awesome things about cats is their intuition! Sir E has been attached to me since day one! He slept with me every night and always knew when I was sick. One of the things I haven't talked much about is that in 2011 I went through a deep deep depression. Everyday as I lay in bed Sir E would lay with me. He did a lot of his normal kitty things, but he always came to my side. He endured many many tears. There were days, weeks, and months really, that I didn't want to live. One of my prevailing thoughts was of my kitty. I knew that if I died he would be well taken care of...after all everyone loves him! Yet, I knew that no one had a bond with him like I did. We had a special pack, bond, attachment that couldn't be replicated by anyone else. I don't just say that to make myself feel good, it was fact. Often when I would travel, he would be upset, not eat as much, and generally be sad that I wasn't around. It was evident by everyone who took care of him when I traveled.
He was also life for me. Although my life was incredibly sad for an unbearable amount of time, my life would seem a little bit more manageable with Sir E around. Sometimes even just looking at a picture of him would make me smile, a rare phenomena in my life for far too long. He wasn't just a pet, a cat, he was an irreplaceable part of my existence.
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| Sometimes you need a shoulder to lean on |
So today as I write this, I realize that an era has ended. Clearly the universe knows I can move on without him, but I can't express the absolute sadness I have at his pending death. He has been a wonderful companion, funny, adorable, irritating, sweet, loving, and life giving. He has made the past 13 years an adventure. Every day when I come home I am greeted by him. Every night he sleeps beside me, on top of me, or at my feet. He always hogs the covers and takes up way more than his share of the bed. He is tenacious and will always get what he wants!
It is so hard to say goodbye to a companion that has lived all over the world with me, and outlasted numerous human companions. It's hard to imagine that I will fly back to Colorado without him. It is hard to imagine that tomorrow night he will not be at my feet , on my head, drinking out of my sink, or laying on the toilet lid as I take a bath. My life has been greatly improved by having him in my life!
So tonight I say goodbye. Goodbye to a being that has taught me how to love unconditionally and how to accept love unconditionally. My life will forever be changed by having little Sir Elton in my life. I hope that one day I will be a better human companion to those around me, thinking of how Sir E loves me without expectations. May you die in peace. I will forever be grateful for your presence in my life. I love you Sir Elton. Mommy.
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