To a Cat

She was a Maine coon cat, so of course she was named Kittery, after the town in southern Maine. We adopted her many years ago from a dear friend who had this habit of taking in stray animals of numerous species. She was doubtless the smallest of her breed, and distinctly anti-social even for a cat. We realized early on that even her plaintive meows for attention did not guarantee that she wouldn't immediately run and hide when attention was paid. Hence, we called her "skittery Kittery," and learned to wait until she would come to us.But then, all cats are instinctively narcissistic, which makes their gestures of affection all the more precious.
Not everybody is a cat person. Some prefer dogs or some other animal. Some don't want any pet, finding the responsibility, the obligation, too much of a burden or an obstacle in a busy life, I have had many cats in my life, all the ways to childhood, and I am with Mark Twain, who wrote, "A house without a cat may be a home, but how can it prove its title?"
During recent days, she had become thin, even gaunt. A visit to the vet told the worst: a tumor that was preventing her from getting any nutrition from the food she ate. Remedies such as surgery or even chemotherapy were expensive and questionable for a cat of her age. Finally this morning she died peacefully and we will bury her in the yard.
Whether it be cat or dog or any other pet, the owner receives an unconditional regard. No matter the type of person you are, no matter how things have been going in your life, a cat purring in your lap seems healing in some way. (The same is true in a different way with dogs; that is why those comfort dogs went to Newtown.) And each pet becomes a member of the family of a sort. In fact, some people are able to relate to their cat or dog but not to other people. Studies have shown that elderly people actually benefit from adopting a pet.
Yes, we have other cats, who both seem to wonder what happened to their companion. and to carry on as if nothing had. But we still feel the loss and will take some time to grieve.
Resquiescat in pacem, Kittery.