I could not have asked for it. I could not have wished for it. I could not have expected it. But when it happened, it was love at first sight.
We made a commitment to each other, secure in the knowledge we would grow old together.
When I got sick, I called out for her from my hospital bed, and during my recovery, she never left my side.
When I awake in the dark and lonely night, I reach out and her presence gives me comfort.
I love touching her, and tenderly caressing her, although sometimes she likes it a bit rough, and I have to admit, her favorite position is on top.
She is so beautiful to me and I love her so much it hurts. Out of the billions of souls on Earth, it is a miracle we found each other and she chose me.
She makes me happy, she makes me sad, but she always makes me laugh.
When we gaze deeply into each other's eyes, I know it will be till death do us part.
No, I am not talking about my wife. I am talking about my cat!
Those of you who have a pet, and especially those who have a cat, will understand when I say I love my cat so much it hurts. But it is a pain I willingly embrace. During the long days when I lie in bed, reading or working on the computer, she sleeps curled up on my lap, and her gentle snoring calms my savage breast. She wakes up and yawns widely, and I shudder at the fearsomeness of her fangs. She climbs onto my chest, and no matter what I am doing, I stop and give her my undivided attention. I firmly believe that time spent with my cat is time well spent.
I scratch her all about the head, and underneath her chin, which she juts out, her long, crooked whiskers bristling. I stroke her all the way down her back and tail. An animal's tail is an extension of their spine, and the stimulation has been proven to promote health and extend their life.
As she purrs softly, I kiss the top of her furry head and cheeks, even though it upsets her sense of propriety. When she is done (of course, it is always up to her), she jumps off the bed, nibbles her kibble, takes a drink of water, uses the litterbox, and makes her rounds about the house. During the long nights when I lay on my side and stare at the clock, she sleeps in the crook of my lap and I deeply massage the scruff of her neck until I fall asleep.
I have my wife to thank for my cat. My wife and I were separated while I worked out my issues with alcohol. She decided she needed a cat back in her life, so she went to the local shelter and picked out a black and white kitten with a black mask. (That mask would prove to be prophetic.) While my wife and I got to know each other all over again, I came to visit her one evening, and she introduced me to Inari (named after the Japanese cat goddess). We bonded immediately and came to adore each other. It was the kitten's reaction to me that convinced my wife I was on the road to recovery and I was once again becoming the man she fell in love with.
Inari and I are telepathically linked. All I have to do is think about her and wherever she is sleeping or prowling, she will soon come to me. She has nursed me back to health through cancer and spinal cord surgery, and continues to care for me through chronic pain and paralysis. She knows when I am not feeling well, physically or emotionally, and she uses her natural Reiki abilities to make me feel better.
When I am in great pain, and plead with God to take me, I think about the promise I have made to this innocent creature until the anguish passes.
Our relationship is founded on kindness, respect, and especially, consistency. I do not feed her or clean her litterbox, yet she loves me absolutely. All she asks of me in return is that I do the same.
I often joke that a cat will love you unconditionally, as long as all the unconditions are theirs. In fact, more than love, what a cat does is trust you unconditionally, which is even more incredible.
I'm not going to say my cat is a green-eyed monster who jealously protects her territory (for better or worse, she considers me part of her territory), but the moment my wife and I begin to display affection, she insinuates herself between us, and sticks her face in ours, until we laugh involuntarily, totally breaking the mood.
My wife says she's a punk who has me wrapped around her little claw, and enjoys telling this story:
"In 2008, Steve was in surgery for seven hours. When the nurse came into the waiting room to tell me I could go in to see him, she looked at me and said, 'You're not Japanese.' I said, 'Nooo. Why would you think that?' The nurse replied, 'Because ever since he opened his eyes, he's been asking for Inari. We thought he was asking for his wife.' 'No,' I said. 'He was asking for his cat.'"
I respect a cat's independent nature. They are made that way and you're either okay with that or you're not. If you expect a cat to do anything other than be a cat, you and the cat will be disappointed.
We both have separation anxiety when we're not together. She knows what every move I make means. She can tell if I'm getting up for dinner, to watch TV in the living room, or to go out of the house. The last thing I see, as the car pulls out of the driveway, is her sad face in the bay window, saying, 'how can you weave me, you wuv me.'
Perhaps the most controversial point I will make here is that cats understand human language. Just because they do not possess the ability to pronounce words, doesn't mean they don't know what we're talking about. Anyone who owns a cat knows this to be true. I'm not suggesting that they can follow a discussion on quantum physics, but why would they want to. But they do recognize tone, body language, their names, our names, and a large vocabulary of key words that pertain to their environment. You must remember that cats have a vested interest in anticipating what's being said around them and how they may be affected.
I love playing with my cat. Her hand-eye coordination is uncanny. We regularly buy new toys to stimulate her active mind with new challenges, but no matter how much we spend, her favorite game is fetch with a crumpled up piece of paper.
My cat connects me to the natural world. When I pet her, I am petting a lion, a tiger, a panther, a sabre-tooth.
Cats are intelligent, curious, reasoning, self-aware animals with distinct personalities and wicked senses of humor. They display the entire range of emotions that humans arrogantly reserve to themselves. They are tolerant of us, genuinely seem to like us, and seek us out, but I'm not sure they ever quite forgive us for imprisoning them in our homes, no matter how many comfy cushions and cat condos we have.
Cats appear to have nine lives because their ability to adapt enables them to survive.
Although at ten years of age she is in the prime of her life, sometimes I think about losing her, and the thought is more than I can bear.
Albert Schweitzer said, “The only escape from the miseries of life are music and cats.”
I think he put it purrfectly.
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