Oh, she was a fair beauty, your Cathy. I am so incredibly sorry for your loss, and at such a young age. I am glad that you got so much from your brief time with her, and I am sure that she got much from the relationship as well. Please accept my sympathies, as a cat person who has had to say goodbye to beloved pets before. It’s like someone grabbed a piece of your vital organs and just began to rip them out of you with a fiendish laugh.
Oh....Laz.....My screen is blurry as well as many others here.....your post was magnificent, the way you felt for your cat ....is the way I feel for my cat Winston.
Bless you and that wonderful cat.
I know GOD is with you.
Thanks for the note.
I have lost many pets over the years.
They were all special in their own little ways.
I keep getting more...
Laz, this is a beautiful post. (And your little girl was so beautiful too! Cathy was a lovely cat.) I am impressed that you are able to process things so quickly to be able to write about this. And I agree that some cats are really special (and dogs too, I’m sure, except that I’m much more familiar with cats), and very possibly sent for a reason. One of ours cats is “Daddy’s boy” (even though I don’t think my husband has ever fed him!) and I really think he was sent to us to help my husband through some very hard times. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
Thank-you.
What a beauty! And she is looking at you through the eyes of love.
Oh, yeah. She is definitely waiting for you at the Rainbow Bridge. Take heart my dear friend. You will meet again.
Have you ever heard about Rainbow Bridge?
Take care buddy.
5.56mm
The same week that my father died almost 6 years ago, I had to help my beloved 19 year old Bubba to the Rainbow Bridge. One of the worst weeks of my life. I will be forever grateful to God that I didn’t have to make that last trip to the vet the same day I buried Dad.
My mother passed away earlier this month and my beloved Lucy is not going to me with me much longer. I know when I make that last trip to the vet, I will be a puddle of tears. Lucy has been my beloved friend for 19 years. I think she’s staying for a little while longer because she knows I’m grieving. She sits next to me and just purrs and we are happy together.
Thank you for sharing your story. You have been a blessing.
And like you, I was very fortunate to have the purring chest cat experience. None of my other cats are/were as special, even though each one shows their ‘love’ (appreciation) in a different way.
I sincerely hope that for some one capable of so much love to give can find in his heart some other deserving cat(s) to share and cherish. Give some other cat(s) a chance, after some appropriate time of grieving.
“I learned to be present in the moment. At one time when she was a little better, when she was on my chest purring, I let go of the possible future and outcome, and I stepped out any regrets about the past — I was just with her. Simply with her. I felt her, warm, on my chest, rumbling with the loving purr, and I thought, “This is so nice. This feels good.” That moment is eternal. I shall always keep it with me. It informs me that it is so important to be present and in the moment with our pets, and our loved ones, right now. The moments we make become like concrete, solidified in our souls, so that they may be treasured and kept for all eternity. It seems that if we are present in the moment, we might actually be able to live a million lifetimes, as each moment becomes pure and timeless.”
This passage just did me in. It is so very rich with truth and I for one am so grateful I am on your list and had the opportunity to read it and re-read it.
So very sorry for your loss and for the roller coaster. It is just amazing the result was this lovely memorial to your beloved Cathy.
Thank you for taking the time to write this and share it.
Your words are timely and I thank you for them.
My ‘inherited’ kitty, Molly, will be the beneficiary of your thoughtful reminders.
So sorry about your dear beloved kitty Cathy. You will see her again I'm sure.
Can't find a reference but I believe St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that animals are reunited with us in Heaven.
God bless you in your sorrow.
caddie
Laz,
Thank you so much for sharing the story and picture of your beloved kitty. You have my deepest sympathy for her loss, and congratulations that you have determined the elements of God’s will in loving her and losing her.
I read your story last night, but was too emotional to comment at that time. We reluctantly acquired a cat in March. I have been totally gobsmacked over the hold our Bobber now has on my heart. We also have recently lost my 25 year old nephew, and he has not been found yet, so working through the combination of grief and acceptance are moment by moment challenges, and I have been trying to work out the ability to continue noticing beauty, wonder, and all the gifts available to us in this wonderland of real life.
Here’s hoping your own health situation is improving. Thank you again for sharing your story.
What an absolutely gorgeous Cathy-kitty. Thank you for your post -- I am so very sorry for your loss.
My beloved 18 1/2 year old Carmen who went to the Rainbow Bridge this last Friday. I am just about too distraught to function. I did receive a "God winks" just minutes before I had to make the final call to the vet, so I know all of our formerly-departed were calling Carmen home.
Very nice Laz, well written and heartfelt. Black cats are the best. Bless her and you.
My condolences and hugs to you on the sad passing of your beloved cat.(((((((((((Hugs)))))))))))))):(=^..^=
She was a beautiful cat!
I had a very tough week myself, having just lost one of my cats, age 12, to cancer. She was a tortie named Strawberies.
I’m sorry for your loss, Laz. God bless you and yours. I truly hope God lets us have our pets back when Heaven comes to Earth.
Nicely done, Laz. Seems you’ve had more than one epiphany out of this somber event. You have my condolences and my compliments.
Oh, she was a beauty! I’m sorry, Laz.