All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
My little cat Harlie has died.
She was all of those things, bright, beautiful, great (in her old age) small (enough to ride around on my shoulder) when I got her. And she was very wise, and very wonderful. When I cried, she always came and found me. She was my first pet that was all mine and nobody else's. I saw dozens of kittens (in rural Canada the papers were full of free litters) before I found my tiny treasure. She was the only girl in a litter of boys. Her mother's name was Razz, so they'd called her Zarr, because she looked just like her mother, only with the bicolor sides of her face reversed. As a romantic and artsy eleven year-old, I re-named her Harlequin Phantom. Harlequin for the multi-coloured coat of the Commedia dell'Arte character, and Phantom for the Phantom of the Opera, because of her white half-mask. It was promptly shortened to Harlie, but I bristled whenever anyone suggested she was named after a motorcycle because of her purr. "It's with an IE at the end!" I'd sputter, as if it made a difference.
She and my dear old dog Caila were best friends as babies, and uneasy allies as adults. When they were roughly the same size they'd wrestle and play. Harlie never got over the betrayal of Caila growing up to be ten times her size, but I don't think she forgot her old friend. They'd sleep on the same couch, not touching, but close.
I was looking forward to bringing Harlie to live with me at the meetinghouse. I thought we'd have a good ten more years of lap sitting and window gazing together. I'm really sad that I didn't get to say goodbye, but so glad that she died peacefully, happy, and sleeping, which was her favourite thing to do. My mum sent me a very sweet and brave e-mail with the news. Poor mummy kept it to herself all weekend because she didn't want me to be upset over the Thanksgiving weekend. It was very kind of her.
Anyway, goodnight, Harlie-cat.
8 comments:
You are in my prayers. I am an animal lover. Lost my kitty a couple of years back and it still breaks my heart.
-Craig
Greensboro, NC
Friendship Friends Meeting
I confess, I cry for passed cats (I've had two). I'm sorry for the loss....
Martin
Thank you for your loving messages, guys. I cried too. When I first heard I felt very sad but didn't cry. Ten minutes later, remembering dressing Harlie up in her "baptismal gown" and all the fun we had together, and how tiny and loveable she was and how proud of her I was, and how much I'd missed her, and how long it had been since I saw her...I broke down. I cried so much I had to call work and tell them I'd be late.
:(
It's just hard to realize that she's really gone. It's been easing a little bit over the course of the day. My boss said I'm probably sad because she was a piece of home that I was going to have with me. I'm grieving her for her own sake, but she's probably right, too.
Oh Amanda - maybe we can think of some other piece of home you can take back with you after Christmas! This was the hardest part of telling you - knowing you planned on taking her home this coming visit. I had been worried about the cold flight back in a carrier in the belly of a plane, and toyed with driving her up to you. Well - we will just have to drive up anyway and meet all your new friends. Maybe the Friends meeting house will let us throw some sleeping bags down for a night!
I love you Aimee!
Mummy
Can I bring Elsa home instead, then?
Oh my,
Genie and I only had a wee mousie together, Bongo Knock. He died in his sleep, and had quite a send off. Cathal McConnel was staying with us and played an air on the whistle at his funeral in the back gardin. Eventually his little grave marker, with a mouse curled up asleep - disapeared... We still miss singing him awake as we went to sleep, he being nocturnal. We saved him from a nieghbors glue trap when he was a baby, and he got his name, ( Broken Nose in Romany ) becase for the first few days his nose was crooked from his run in with the trap. He eventually pulled it into shape.
Well, I hope mice and cats get along in heaven.
Well, thy kitty will always be with thee now, close in thy heart.
Thyne in the light
lor
My heart goes out to you!! I miss my 'Dusty' every day!! Nothing like a fab cat. Luna Perfect Puppy Dog is the love of my life and my favorite dog. Having a cat is equally as wonderful; always sad to lose a pet. Hugs.
GASP! Elsa? No, never, not ever - but I might lend you Emma for a day or two! She is such a tease these days! Anyone needing a cardiovascular work out needs borrow her only a for a few hours, so that you can chase after her round and round and round the house, in hopes of retrieving whatever she has stolen from you (or froma sibling) back. Giggling madly, she screeches with delight and flips a coy smile over her shoulder as she glances to see how close you are to catching her.
Love you
Mummy
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