Sunday, August 20, 2006

Sunday Scribblings

This week's Sunday Scribblings prompt is to imagine our pet's inner life. I've decided I will tell you about little Annabelle. She was one of the sweetest kitties my parents had ever adopted; a stray from the Humane Society. Although I try not to anthropomorphize my pets and imagine them as individuals in their own right, what happened with Annabelle made me wish I could have understood her inner life and communicated with her...

Tiny Annabelle joined our family last year, and quickly became a central part of my parents' household. Their older cat, Caramel, loved her. They used to lie together in exactly the same way in the same chair; groom each other; play together. They quickly became inseparable friends, which so rarely happens with cats.

She was such a sweet little cat. For a while, we thought we'd call her Ewok because up close, that's what she looked like. But there was something always wrong with her front paw; the way she held it up like it was botherng her and stepped gingerly on it.

One day, Annabelle started having difficulty with her breathing. Lying on her side, her flank rose and fell like a bellows in the heat. After a week at the vet's, she came back home, but Caramel didn't seem to recognize her, and the problems resurfaced. Her eyes turned grey and glazed over. She started walking into walls, tables, chairs. She spent hours lying on the rattan chair in the front porch, because it seemed to be the only place she was comfortable anymore. We took Annabelle back to the vet's.

While my dad and I were on a four-hour drive back from Sudbury, caught in the tail end of the huge storm last summer that washed out the Finch Avenue bridge, my mom got a call from the vet: he'd had to make a decision and put Annabelle down. Her body had systematically shut down due to a parasitic infection. She lost her sight due to hemorraging in her eyes; her fur lost its shine; her liver and kidneys shut down. She started having seizures.

When my mom went to see Annabelle for the last time, her beloved kitten didn't recognize her. She backed away into the corner of the cold metal cage when mom reached her hand out to pet her. Mom came home and cried for an hour while she waited for us to arrive.

We cried together in each other's arms while dad put Annabelle's lifeless body the ground next to a weeping birch tree, branches swaying above her. We placed a bird bath in the grass above her, because she'd been so thirsty in her last days and couldn't seem to get enough water, mom said. And she'd also loved to watch the birds.

Why did I weep so deeply for a cat I'd known for such a short time? Because all I could think of was that she couldn't have known what was happening. Everything around her was foreign - the sterility of the vet's cage, the shutting down of her body. And she couldn't call out to us to tell us something felt wrong in that front paw. It must have been completely disorienting and frightening to her. And in the end, I'm not sure she knew how much she was loved, or how much she'd be missed.

Caramel walked around the house for days calling out for Annabelle in the middle of the night. Looked for her in empty nooks and crannies but never found her.

~ Ceebie

16 comments:

GreenishLady said...

Oh, that's so sad. My sister's lost two cats in the last few months, and it really is a terrible loss to lose a pet like that.

mareymercy said...

Oh, that's so sad. It's the hardest part, for me, of having pets - knowing that one day I will lose them.

Anonymous said...

thanks for sharing this. i had a sick cat once and wished i could have talked to him to find out what was wrong.

Unknown said...

That's very sad, for you and for Caramel, to have loved so well, and lost so soon.

Anonymous said...

This brought tears to my eyes...you made Annabelle's suffering so vivid. :(

I hope she found peace.

Crafty Green Poet said...

Oh that is so sad. Poor little kitten. I often wish my rabbit could talk and tell us when she's feeling poorly.

Pacian said...

Oh you brought tears to my eyes with this. I feel so sorry for both of them.

jojo said...

i know this day will come for me and my hubby. it is horrible. i wish they could outlive us. but thanks for sharing your story. if only we could really talk to them...

LB said...

My heart is broken for that sweet little kitty. You did a beautiful job telling her story.

Tammy Brierly said...

That story broke my heart! They are such special creatures and we communicate our love the best we can.

Ceebie said...

Thanks everyone. I don't think I realized how difficult Annabelle's passing was for me until I wrote this...I know the day will come when I'll have to say goodbye to my own kitties too but hopefully I'll be prepared...

Cassiopeia Rises said...

Beautiful, I had to put my cat down last fall. She was 21 years old. I cried so much that the vet sent me a feel better card. I will keep it always.Thanks for your kind words about my poem.

bd

Cassiopeia Rises said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Kay Cooke said...

Your writing is strong and clear - and very, very moving - sure, the subject was a sad one, but all the same your treatment of it was masterly! I felt sad reading it and it takes a bit to make me cry (even if it was on the inside!) Poor wee kitty - I'm sure at some stage she knew she was loved.

Alex S said...

The only time I've ever seen my dad cry was when his favorite dog, ShooShoo, died. Our pets became such an irreplaceable part of our lives-they are companions, soulmates, teachers, and pals all in the same furry skin.jma

Anonymous said...

How sad. :( I know how it feels to lose a feline friend. And I cried my eyes out too, even though everyone thought I was acting silly. I wish there was a way you could tell Caramel what happened...