justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

The Loss of my Furry Friend

I lost a friend the other day, my 17-year old cat named Luke. For those who are not pet lovers, it may seem strange that one would get all emotional at the passing of a cat.

Luke had an interesting life; born in Santa Fe, moved to Arizona, then to California, back to Santa Fe, and back again to California, where he passed quietly in his sleep between our pillows early in the morning of 9/11.  He had nestled between my wife and I as he always did when going to sleep. His passing came quickly, most likely from a clot or heart attack, with no signs of struggle.

So what was so special about my relationship with Luke? For starters, he had several pitches to his meowing, almost sounding like “right on”, to a variety of yelps and squeaks by which he taught us to translate and respond accordingly.

Even though Luke was an indoor cat, he loved a little bit of the fenced-outdoors. Whether it was our deck in Santa Fe, or most recently our postage-stamp-sized patio; he spent a good deal of time lounging (and doing his business) in the dirt edge by our fences. He also didn’t mind the rain, and often could be found just outside his cat door, getting just a little wet before coming into the house to drip everywhere.

I’ve often heard it said one should not get too attached to a pet, as most humans outlive their pets by many years, but I was very attached to Luke. It’s difficult coming home and not seeing him come to the door to greet me. I’m resigned to recognizing the dark object out of the corner of my eye as my Luke keeping track of me, being all-knowing about my habits that he helped shape to his liking.

I sure miss my Luke!   

P.S. In the last two months of Luke’s life he took to lying on my chest for up to 20 minutes at a time when I napped, letting me smell his sweet breath and he smelling mine. I imagine he was making sure we made the most of the time remaining that only he would know about. I going to buy a pillow weighing just over 8 pounds to place on my chest, as a reminder of my protector, my buddy...