A kitty's message

I think that there's something very special about a cat's touch. We
know that petting a cat has been shown to reduce stress and calm the
heart. But I also discovered that touching a cat can impart an
impression that will stay with you for a long time.

Since Betty died over six months ago, the only thing about her that I
could recall clearly was her limp and lifeless little body, and I
obsessed over the idea of rejoining her somehow.

Betty's last day was the last time I touched any cat, for many months.
But on Thanksgiving, I was invited to a friend's new house for dinner,
and there I ran into their new cat.

He was a small, sleek cat, with a jet black coat that shimmers in that
way that's always so hard to do justice to in pictures. He was so
curious. I asked his hoomins how old he was. It turned out that he
was just an adolescent, having been born around the same time that
Betty died.

The kitty naturally came to sniff and examine me and rub my ankles.
When I reached out and scritched his ears, I remembered scritching
Betty's ears. When I scritched his tail, he grabbed my hand playfully
and rolled around. And I remembered scritching Betty's tail and
playing with her.

After that, I regained full recall of the times I cuddled and played
with Betty. The kitty's touch seemed to heal something inside me.
But I noticed later that it wasn't just that a memory block was
removed, but I had also received something new. I could now feel many
of these events from Betty's point of view. I curled up asleep and
content in a warm lap. I meowed and greeted daddy when he came back
from the store. I chased determinedly after the cat dancer even when
it darted out of sight behind the sofa.

Betty is gone. But I was finally given her memories.

Susan M...

I'm glad for you Tak. Healing comes at unexpected times and in unexpected
ways. I'm glad you met the little black cat!

Susan M
Otis and Chester

polonca12000...

I'm so very relieved to hear that. We've been so worried about you, Tak!
Lots and lots of hugs and purrs for you,
Polonca and Soncek

Sam...

That's beautiful, Tak. Perhaps that visit was Betty's way of saying
"It's OK. Remember the good times".

Kreisleriana...

Cats ARE healing, in little furry packages. They are amazing that
way. This is just why so many of us have been hoping for you to get
back in touch with cats in a more tangible way. Now I'm hoping you'll
get to do it more often.

Theresa

Make Levees, Not War

D VanDyke...

Tak, that was beautifully put. I hope that one day you will find
another little kitty who needs you to need him/her.

- Denise
owned, manipulated, folded, spindled and mutilated by Brenna (recently
the *very* feisty)

Dan M...

I am *so* glad to hear that, Tak! I've been worried about you something
fierce.

Being able to remember past event's from the point of view of our furred
masters is a wonderful gift. It opens up a whole new vista.

Ginger-lyn...

That is beautiful, Tak. I am so happy for you.

CatNipped...

Oh Tak, I'm *SO* glad to hear that! I've been so worried about you since
Betty left for the bridge!!

Takayuki...

I didn't think that anyone would be worried. There are so many people
here I would personally be a lot more worried about than myself. But
I know worry from having had to worry about Betty for so long. Still,
I'm so glad that she was with me.

Adrian A...

Lori's not the only person to worry about you, Tak, many of us did.

Christina Websell...

Including me. I was so worried that you were considering taking your own
life to be with Betty.
I felt once like this myself when my beloved Minnie Whippet went to the
Bridge. I hardly knew how to manage without her love and companionship I
had had for 18 years.
There's a price to pay for having such a great love. You are paying for it

Takayuki...

Amber was a cutie. Sometimes I start a post thinking that I'm going
to just write, "I saw a friend's cute cat during dinner," and several
paragraphs just appear from nowhere, like a computer glitch...

CATherine...

That is the sign of your heart opening up; the frozen emotions warming
into life. You had a profound experience and needed to write about it.

Yes, Amber was a cutie. I loved him very much and still miss him. But
I was fortunate to have other cats to help me through the grieving
process.

Patricia Davis...

I wish my computer had that kind of glitch! I can't write worth a rat's
tail...

now. I paid for it a few years ago.
It will get better. I thought it never would, but it did.
I am so happy that you are beginning to get the good memories back.

CatNipped...

Of course we were worrying about you! Yes, others here get worried about
and purred for too, but as someone is sure to point out, purrs, like love,
are an every renewable resource - there's always more than enough to go
around.

Kreisleriana...

LIK I SED BEEFOR I PURR ALLATIME SO I GOTS PLENTY EXTRA

LUV DANTE

Theresa

Make Levees, Not War

Adrian A...

That's good to hear. Maybe soon you'll be ready yo let another cat into yor
life and into yor heart.

Pat...

Oh, how lovely! I am so glad for you. Black Eli has helped me in the same
way with memories from two black cats earlier in my life: Egypt and Minu.

djmaizels...

That is so amazing a description, Tak and I am so glad for your sake you
met that little black cat.
Somewhere, there is or will be another cat who is longing to create
those kind of memories with a caring and sensitive person like you.
Betty will send him or her to you when you are ready.

Micha...

I think, that little kitten is a message to Takayuki.

Squarely Yours
Michael

Takayuki...

I think that cats must lead the most amazing lives. And hoomins just
have to let them, as well as they can.

djmaizels...

Yes, that's certainly the truth! Cats also have no regard for rules,
gravity or the passage of time. It's like sharing your house with four
furry anarchists.