I just read a very nice article about giving thanks for the cats (and dogs - for those of you dog people) in your life... It was a sweet ode to the cats this woman had been owned by (because any cat person knows who really owns whom) throughout her married life. I teared up a few times as I read it, because not only were her sentiments sweet, but it made me think of my own past furry companions as well as my sweet Luna...
My family's first cat was Mishka - which means "cat" in Russian. Mishka was an orange tabby cat who would play hide-and-seek with my father (or so the stories go, since I was just a baby when we had her). From the way my father tells it, you'd get the idea that Mishka was really a human in furry attire! I really have no recollection, since I was so young, of what ever happened to Mishka. In my young mind and memories, she was just there, and then she wasn't.
After Mishka, Spook came to live with us. Spook was a black cat that originally belonged to close family friends. One thing led to another, and Spook came to live with us when they could no longer keep her. Spook was a cool cat, but she crossed over the Rainbow Bridge shortly after the Chinese food place opened behind our house. I was still young at the time, so I thought nothing of it, but other adults in my life made the innuendo...and when I grew up, I finally realized what they meant. I'd like to think that Spook just went off on her catty way and lived a long happy life outside rather than think of her as my appetizer from dinner that night. Let's just leave it at that!
Tiger came next... Tiger was a tiger looking cat. Good cat, but unfortunately, I don't remember a whole lot about him either since I was so young. I do know he and my mother had a very strong bond.... I guess I'm going to have to ask about Tiger a little more - he was a cool cat from what little I do remember.
Next came Codie. Codie was our mutt. Good mutt - but a little crazy. Actually, in hind-sight, I'd be willing to venture that she was just hyper. Since I was in middle school, I really didn't know any different...I was hyper myself, so what's to say she wasn't normal (to me, at least)? Codie was a good dog. One of my favorite memories of her was when my brother was a baby, sitting in his high chair eating yogurt, and she'd eat it out of his mouth (he was a willing accomplice). Gross? Perhaps, but a fond memory nonetheless...
After Codie met an untimely end thanks to a UPS truck (yeah, that's what Brown did for us!), Goblin came along. She was a scroungy kitten that came staggering up our driveway one day. My mother thought she was going to fall over any second, and we gave her tuna to hold her over. From then on, she was part of our family. The vet said that she had a spinal birth defect that would never allow her to walk properly (hence the staggering) and she might not last long... But over 18 years later, she was still kicking, and we, unfortunately had to help her cross the Rainbow Bridge in December 2005.
Goblin was never really my cat. Yes, my brother and I promised profusely that we'd care for her if only our parents let her stay. That lasted all of 10 minutes. But, even though we sometimes played rough with her, we still loved her and to this day, I do miss her. She was a good cat....even if she was as old as dirt when her time came! She hung in there long after anyone could've guessed she would've.
Post Codie but during Goblin's reign came Brandy. Brandy was my little "Pooperoni" as I called her. She was a good little beagle. My father had her trained to follow his commands (a trait that still impresses my high school friends to this day). I'll never forget the day that she dumbfounded us all. She knew that when my father told her to "go sit down", she was to go to the kitchen and sit in her bed. Well, one summer afternoon, my mother, brother and I were playing a game in the living room during an especially bad thunderstorm. Brandy didn't have much of a liking for storms - she was downright chicken to be honest. Well, she kept coming in the living room for attention, but we didn't want my father to come home and find her there, so we finally told her to "go sit down". Wouldn't you know it? She went in the kitchen and brought her bed back into the living room with her, and sat down. We just stared in amazement! GOOD GIRL!! After that, we didn't have the heart to send her back to the kitchen, so she rode out the storm with us...
Brandy was my friend, but she was my brother's dog (even though, just like Goblin, my mother took care of her). Her passing hit my brother especially hard. It hit ME hard too - harder than I thought it would. She got sick (and old - 14 years old if I remember correctly), and the time finally came to take her to the vet for the last time... I'll never forget the entire family crowded in that small office to say goodbye. I held her face and petted her while my brother hugged her and we all cried. It was peaceful but heart breaking. Even my father - the one who always claimed he didn't love her - gave her a kiss on the nose. He loved her. We all did.
In October 2004, Luna came into my life. She was my first pet. Mine. Well, actually, I was her first human, and she was the world to me. Luna had a rough childhood (thanks to, well, we won't go there) which in turn made her misunderstood by other people. But the past year has given her the time she needed to heal and she has helped me through a rough time. Even while we were both in our "past life" (that's what I call the past 9 years before last September), she was always there for me. When times are bad and when I've felt most alone in this world, she's always been there for me nudging me or rubbing on me almost as if to tell me everything will be ok. She's my world and I can't imagine being without her.
We've spoken, and she understands that she's never crossing the Rainbow Bridge. She's ok with that - she understands, honest! :)
The animals that have come in and out of my life have all made an impact on me... They've contributed to who I am and I'm thankful for it every day. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of Brandy and Goblin especially...I miss them the most. But then I look at my Luna and I'm thankful for having her and realize how lucky I truly am - no matter what.
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