Cat Tales

Mourning is a necessary thing. It’s bone-crushingly painful but necessary. Losing my precious Coco can’t be ignored, plopped into a shoebox and stowed away in the back of my closet. 

The process is not all sobbing, downing shots of Jamo and rending of garments. It also involves, (fer yurs truly and that’s who we’re talkin’ about here!) remembering so many of the good and utterly hilarious times.

It’s like this…

There was the night that Coco and TAB decided to play mouse badminton IN BED, AT NIGHT. TAB wrote a short narrative poem about the experience which starts with:

Donna in her T-shirt
   and I in mine own
Had just settled our brains
   for dreams of desserts
When all at once…

Full poem at the linky.

Coco was always a tremendously clear communicator. e.g., There was the time she had complaints about my hygiene.

"Why does Coco occasionally lick my hand when I’m patting her? I’m afraid that she feels I’m a bedraggled and, possibly, mentally slow thing. Ya know, she’s essentially saying, “Ooof, you are one filthy beast. Take a bath! Here, I’ll start you off.”"

The kitten pulled more than a few Houdini-ish antics in her extended youth—she became like a neutrino auditioning for a shot at CERN. In actuality, I suspect that our girl was just, thoughtfully, making sure I got in my day’s exercise. Of course.

I may’ve already mentioned this—Coco was a brill communicator.

"Mon petit lioness adamantly stands at the basement door – she’s letting me know that it’s time to explore the basement. It’s a fascinating place for her, filled with new, different shelves to clamber, tables to scale, a washer and dryer to examine and myriad canvases to smell. So many unfamiliar flavors to scent and new dark corners to check out! Spider webs – SQUEEEE!"

Back when we were a two tux household, after our dear Rocco moved in, Chez Valhalla became Maison Passive Agressive. Fer instance:

"…when they're both downstairs, Rocco will make a big show of eating out of her food bowl. Coco does the very same thing to him. Then there's the litter box battles. Though they each have their own personal latrine (which are at opposite ends of the house), both Coco and Rocco appear to get a great charge out of depositing the odd meadow muffin or taking the stray slash in the others' can."  

On top of being my faithful nurse, companion, personal comedian, brutal mouse assassin and Killer Queen, Coco was my sweet rescuer.

I am celebrating her life.

I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It’s not. Mine had me trained in two days.
~ Bill Dana

The only escape from the miseries of life are music and cats...
~Albert Schweitzer

“I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it.
CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE.”
~Terry Pratchett, Sourcery

I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.
~Hippolyte Taine