That’s what happened for me, anyway, when I put a hit out on my cat. It was a very difficult decision. I’ve had people berate me for interfering with god’s work. I’ve even heard “How would you feel if someone else decided it was your time to die, and did the same to you?” You know what, I’d be grateful. If I was already dying, and in the kind of pain she was in, I would love it if someone would end the suffering. Too bad that option isn’t available to humans.
Baby (that was her name) was nearly 18 years old. Siamese live a long time, but I never expected 17 years, 8 months, and all the days and hours that went along with being her owner.
I wasn’t really her owner. You don’t own a cat. You can’t even tell them what to do. She wasn’t your typical good cat. She was an independent animal in her own right. Baby had the absolute loudest meow of any feline I ever met. Car rides, though seldom, were her time to put that volume to the test. I think it was her equivalent of singing in the shower.
She liked to play fetch with bracelets. Her favorite toy was a catnip butterfly, which you couldn’t take from her without risking the flesh on your hands. She slept on my bed every night for the past 8 years. She loved the sun, and warm, and was delighted to find that warm came out of heat registers. When wasn’t content to just sit or lay on my lap like other kitties, she always had to climb up and sit on my chest so she could look over my shoulder.
Baby didn’t like many people. One night, before my husband and I were married, she ran across the back of the couch, smacked him on the head and kept running. That was the friendliest hello she ever gave.
She barely tolerated the dogs. The big one frightened her, and the little one annoyed her. I’m sure she would never have called either one “friend”, The big one, certain that Baby is still lying in my bed, keeps pulling all the covers off, just to make sure. They miss her.
I miss her. I have a hole in my heart that won’t be filled right away. She was a cool cat. We understood each other. Rest in peace, Baby.
