Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2004. Mattie was two and a half years old and as Christmas gifts were coming in I was stacking them under the stair case until our tree was up and decorated. I am not sure who found the mailing boxes more intriguing Mattie, or our calico cat, Patches! These two became good buddies, but it did not start out that way at first. It took a while for Mattie to learn not to chase Patches and pull at her tail, but once he understood that he became very protective of her when his friends would come over and visit her, especially those who were not familiar with how to interact and play with a cat.
Quote of the day: A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not. ~ Ernest Hemingway
Today marks the one year anniversary of Patches' death. Last year, we had to put Patches to sleep, as she was dying from Bone Cancer. Just like Mattie, what are the odds? I do not know how this year went by so quickly. I almost can't believe we have lived so long without our furry bombshell (as I called her) in our lives. Patches was such an ingrained part of daily routine! We had Patches for 16 years and we acquired her when she was a year old. Patches was abandoned on the streets of the District of Columbia and in all reality she adopted us. She roamed into our complex and was howling, and I mean howling her head off. No one seemed to pay a bit of attention to her. Except for me. I made her an outdoor bed and started feeding her. Peter knew it was the kiss of death when I actually named her!
At the time Patches came into our lives, our complex had a no pet policy. Not even cats. But Patches was in terrible shape. She was very ill, and also very pregnant. When I brought her to the vet, the vet told me she was going to have 7 kittens. But the vet warned me these kittens were going to be severely ill, given Patches malnourished and ill health condition. I should also tell you Patches was shot in the leg with a bb gun and the bb remained lodged in her paw. So I had to decide what to do with her quickly. I tried to find someone to adopt Patches, but I had no luck. Who wanted an injured, pregnant, and sick cat!? Not many people. So I decided contrary to my building's policy, we were going to adopt Patches, but I needed to abort the kittens. That was a hard decision, but it was a medically sound decision for Patches' health. I figured I might as well save one life and restore it back to health. But I learned not every vet will perform such a surgery, so I had to find the vet who would assist Patches. I tell you all of this because Patches had quite a history at only one year of age!
On some level I think Patches understood what we did for her, to give her a home and to restore her to health. She was as smart as a whip, but also loyal, and protective. She did not get the title, "Nurse Patches" for no reason. I learned this when I was in graduate school. One day, I spiked an 103 degree fever. Peter was working and I was home alone. Practically delusional and in bed. Patches laid on top of me and stayed by my side until Peter returned home. That is when she got her infamous title and then subsequently whenever I got sick, she always took her spot right by my side. But that was the only time she cuddled close to me. Otherwise, she really had not much else to do with me. She was Peter's buddy through and through!
A year may have gone by, but we still miss our girl. She had multiple pet names in our home from Tiger Baby Pumpkin Patch, Patchinator, Polecat, Bean, Freanie Bean, Beaner, Jigs, and Cabbage Baby. We would like to share some classic Patches shots with you tonight!
No comments:
Post a Comment