Saying good-bye to Paw Kitty

Miss Paw



Gus nozzling Paw


My day started out terribly and even though I finally got on a even keel, it was a sad day all around. I usually wake up to two cats meowing for food and tripping me as I head for their bowls. This morning there was only one cat. Since we knew it was only a matter of time before Paw Kitty left us, I went in search of her. It didn't take too long to find her. She was on our sofa and I was sure she was dead. I woke up Don so he could pick her up and move her to the backyard for burial and he discovered she was still alive. But she was so sick (kidneys) that by 8:30 I was able to put her together with our vet and we said good-bye to her.

We said hello to Paw Kitty ten years ago. She was a feral cat, one of many all around the university campus. We were over at school one night for a concert and as we waited, Krista disappeared to check things out and wander around. She was 12 at the time. Eventually she came back in and she was carrying the most pathetic little kitty I had ever seen. Paw Kitty was skin and bones.

She was about 8 months old and I had seen her with her first litter of kittens several days before Kris found her. By this time, Paw had gone into survival mode and had abandoned her litter. She was starving to death. We brought her home that night and eventually she came home to stay. I fed her throughout the summer on a ledge outside of the music building and as she grew in strength, she turned into a pretty if very small kitty.

August is the traditional time for us to take a vacation together. The kids were both out of school and work was slow for me. The timing was perfect. What wasn't so perfect was the big grey Tom that was raiding Paw Kitty's bowl not to mention looking for a little action with the little lady. That did it. Paw came home permanently. She moved in, got fixed, and made it clear to the other cats in the house that she was not to be messed with.

Over the years she completely attached herself to Don. Don was her human. He was even able to evenually get her to lay in his lap. He's good that way. But when the end came, it was too painful for him and I took Paw to the vet. I've done this before. It is my fate to be some sort of angel of death for our pets. I don't mind. I truly believe that God expects us to usher our little friends out if we can. This is why whenever any of our cats have just upped and disappeared, I watch out for them for them long after they are gone. I don't like to think that they died alone.

Oddly, what I thought about during all of this was mom. We put our pets away but not our loved ones. Not that I would choose to do that, but it is interesting I think of how the level of suffering in this life equates with salvation as does the level of compassion that we give to those who are helpless