Mother. March 2016
Ang wrote a nice note about our house cat, Mother, who passed yesterday. Its pretty awesome and I want to share it.
In 1994 when the hubby and I first decided to play house, we decided to get a pet. I wanted a puppy and he wanted a cat. In one of our first big compromises as a couple the handsome silver tongued devil convinced me we would get a cat first and when it died in a couple years we would get a dog. After a few brief trips to shelters (I’m allergic) he decided he wanted a Russian blue….I still wanted a puppy. One trip we took a tiny fluff ball of a kitten out for a few pets and when we went to put her back she attached herself to me with all 4 paws. Hubby got the fronts loose but she wouldn’t give up the backs. Finally got the backs loose and her fronts were wrapped around the outside of her cage door. Got those loose and backs were locked into sleeve. He looks at me says it will be easier to just take this one home. She has been around longer than we’ve been married. She knew my bedtime and when I should be awake. She knew to come check on me if I was in the basement because I am NOT a bottom dweller. She warmed my feet, my hands, my belly, and my heart for a couple decades. R.I.P. Mother you were the best cat for me and to me.
Its all dead-on… I even remember negotiating the dog part… Dammit! 22 years later and Angela remembers that!
I was so put off by this little kitten when she picked us! The Animal Shelters didn’t have the “perfect” cat that I was looking for. Shamefully, it was all for looks… I wanted the Russian Blue cat at the pound price. Good luck with that! On our search, we ran across a full litter of patchwork longhairs that were roiling around a cage… It had to be examined… They were too cute not to play with. One by one we put them back in the cage except for the one little fighter described above. Again, Angela nailed it. “Mother” as she would soon be named, did not want back into that cage! She picked us and we knew it.
The name? Its absolutely a silly name that was stolen from a mid 80’s spring break movie called Fraternity Vacation. Probably the best thing Tim Robbins has ever starred besides Shawshank redemption. One of the characters, a guy, was called “Mother”. My (Wife is a saint BTW) Once we had named our cat this, it became a fun game to tell stories about “Mother peeing on the rug” or “Mother stole food off the counter” to see if we could get a reaction. It usually did!
She was there when we got married… She was there for six years at our first house in Delavan. She moved to Christmas Tree and lived during the constant remodeling process. She survived living with Summer and Aiden for 14 and 12 years respectively. When we moved to Tremont three years ago, I was sure that she was on her ninth life. She could barely clean herself, was covered in big lumps of matted hair and was slow on the steps. I was pretty sure this last move would kill her! It was almost the opposite. The new house had no steps to speak off… So, she got around fine. The new house had carpet, something we had removed completely in Green Valley, and she could now roll around all day grooming herself. She looked great and seemed very happy with the change.
As much as I would like to say she could live forever… Time does catch up regardless of what you do. This past few months she struggled with eating and drinking as her back legs would not stoop down anymore. After that, the litter-box became a loose target. Thats when it gets rough for everyone.
We, as a family knew this day was coming. Angela held her in her last moments when we had her “put down”. It was not how it I wanted it to happen. I would have preferred that she died peacefully on a blanket on our bed without our assistance… But, life doesn’t always make things that cut and dried. I know we gave her a great life and she did the same for us… I already miss her.
RIP Mother 1994 – 2016
