Eulogy for a Cat

I don't consider myself a totally sentimental fool about pets. I've had dogs and cats around as long as I can remember, but I don't dress them up or treat them like children. I do care about them and for them. Dogs, and cats in their own way, give love and affection without conditions.

In 1987, my husband and I had three cats who all contracted feline leukemia before their was a vaccine readily available. It was a very devastating period watching them each fall ill in turn and when the last one was gone, the vet advised us not to get a new cat for at least six months. At the time, I didn't believe I would get another one, but by the time the six months were up, we were ready and got a nearly grown calico from a shelter. We named her Gretchen.

Two weeks later, four neighborhood kids knocked on my door with a kitten. They had heard her meowing in a dumpster in the adjacent park. The other kittens of the litter were already dead. Someone in the neighborhood had told them we might need a cat. This is how Aggie came to be a part of our household.

Aggie was never especially friendly to people or other animals. She was a loner who seldom needed affection. She had allergies and groomed herself constantly which resulted in hair balls no matter what I did. But she liked to sit on my desk as I worked, she always seemed to be in the same room, and she always seemed to know when I was sick or hurting. Even without these things, when you have any pet for nearly 20 years they are part of your life. I will and do miss her.