Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2008. A month before Mattie was diagnosed with cancer. At that moment in time we had absolutely no idea that anything was wrong with Mattie. Our world looked completely different back then. We had no idea about childhood cancer or how profoundly one's world could be changed in an instant. As you can see Mattie was trying to bond with Patches and feed her. Of course Patches wasn't a cuddly type of cat, nonetheless, she tolerated the attention and understood that Mattie was an important part of the household. She was one smart cat!
Quote of the day: No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove her fur from your couch. ~ Leo Dworken
Two years ago today, Peter and I had to put Patches, our calico cat, to sleep. Patches developed bone cancer and was really struggling toward the end. Before her situation became even more painful, we had to do the humane thing. Poor Patches was unable to truly eat or drink fluids and was becoming disoriented and we suspect was dealing with pain. We certainly weren't going to prolong her life, when she had no quality of living.
Patches came into our lives in February of 1997. She was basically one year old when she was abandoned on the streets of DC, with a BB gun bullet in her leg and in terrible shape. Patches was in our commons area screaming her head off for attention and a home, but no one was paying any attention to her. Well except for me. After dinner one evening, I brought the dishes into the kitchen and as I was looking out the window I was startled because staring back at me through the window were two big cat eyes. Patches had jumped up on our window sill to look inside. At that point, I sent Peter outside with our dinner scraps for her to eat. The irony is that from that moment on, Patches bonded with Peter. She always had a great affection for him. She was truly HIS cat. Yet if I was sick, "Nurse Patches," as I called her, took over. At that point, I apparently became a very important person to her and she stayed close by my side until I got better. I discovered this one year when I was in graduate school. Peter was at work, and I was feeling very ill. I had a very high fever, over 102 degrees. Patches did not leave my side until Peter came home and that wasn't an isolated incident. It was each time I was sick. Yet despite being close to Peter, she did not do this with him when he got sick.
After Mattie died, Patches grieved right along side us. If you think animals don't grieve, you are WRONG! Patches was depressed and it was easy to see. She spent a lot of time in Mattie's room. On his bed and on his things. This is NOT something she would have normally done. Patches was important for Peter and me. She gave us something to care for, nurture, and love and did make our home seem less lonely. Because the isolation, pain, and depression of losing a child to cancer wrecks havoc on a home.
As tonight's quote points out.... NO AMOUNT OF TIME can erase the memory of a good cat. That is certainly true with regard to Nurse Patches and I would concur that I still find Patches' fur in all sorts of places in our home even today. On Mattie's memory shelf in our living room, also sits Patches ashes. Two classics featured on one shelf. It is my hope that where ever they are, they have found each other and have reunited.
No comments:
Post a Comment