My grandmother's cat...

[senoritafish]

(To the tune of My Grandfather's Clock - words by Garrison Kiellor)

My grandmother's cat was too big for the shelf
So he slept every night in a bed
He was almost as big as Grandma herself
'Cause three times a day he was fed
He was fed tuna scraps as he lay in Grandma's lap
On his back with a big napkin tied
He ate as much as he could hold
'Til he got too wide.

My grandmother was in her nineties, and lived in a senior apartment my parents had found for her, where she could still keep her dog. She often kept the patio door open so Misty, the pomeranian she acquired after Boo-Boo passed away, could go in and out to do her business. One day, a small calico cat visited her, came inside and helped herself to the dog's bowl, and lay down in front of the television. She left after a while, but returned a few days later, and eventually stopped leaving altogether. The dog didn't seem to mind. Grandma was mystified by cat behavior, as she'd never been owned by a cat before in all her long life. She called me once in amazement that Goldie, as she started calling her, could jump to top of the five foot fence between apartments with no help. I laughed and told yes, cats are far better leapers than dogs. I also had to tell her that, although Goldie didn't mind dogfood, cats really need their own catfood. She was inclined to poo-poo me.

My Grandma said that of cats she had known
Her favorite by far was old Dan
He sat by her side and his eyes simply shone
When she opened a tuna fish can
With his eyes shining bright and groan of delight
He would brush against Grandma and purr
'Til one day, he knocked Grandma down
For he was now bigger than her!

Goldie remained a small cat, although she did have a tendency to get overweight. One day, she sat up from where she had been lying, made a loud cry and ran outdoors. My grandmother looked down and saw what she though was a piece of tissue paper on the floor (she didn't see too well), reached down to pick it up, and was shocked to realize it was a kitten! My father was somewhat ashamed that he hadn't thought about having her spayed, but that was taken care of as soon as the kitten got a little older. The kitten, white with a black spot on its head, was christened Domino, and later adopted by one of the other seniors in the complex.

At ninety-nine, Grandma fell and broke her hip, and never really recovered. I believe she really was only hanging around to see her great-granddaughter born. Her animals came to live at our house. Goldie was fairly skittish, especially around the kids, and it took her a long time to warm up to us. She always liked to be scratched though, and I began charging admission to let her in and out by scratching the base of her tail. I considered myself honored the day she came in and sat down beside me on the floor. I scratched her chin, she purred and we spent a companionable hour together. I admired the way the bits of her calico fur blended into each other.



She fell to the floor with a pitiful scream
And lay there unconscious awhile
Whe she awoke,his eye were agleam
As he looked down on her with a smile
With his gigantic paw, he pinched my old Grandma
And he gave her a horrible grin
And he looked at her legs and her arms
Wondering where to begin



For awhile, she and I were the only females in our household, at least until my daughter came along. It was nice to have her company. For feline company, she had Spot, who adopted us after the couple that lived directly behind us moved away and abandoned him (as far as we've been able to figure). They often hung out together, as seen in the first photo and seemed to be very good buddies.

She managed to climb despite her bad back
To the top of her old Fridgidair
She threw him two steaks, his favorite snack
Which he always took medium rare
Those three days which she spent upon the fridge
Seemed to her like a lifetime at least
She threw down all the food she had
To fill up the ravenous beast



I am ashamed to say, I didn't always see her every day. She often liked to hide and she was still shy around the kids, although she did let Gareth pet her occasionally. I asked John if he'd seen her earlier this week and we found her in the backyard, unable to use her hind legs. I brought her to the patio, made her a bed with some towels and made sure she had food and water, which she ate with her usual appetite. During the night she moved herself back to the Japanese maple where there were piles of leaves on the ground.

My father and I took her to vet yesterday. He found masses on her side and in her abdomen, and offered to do xrays, but also said there really wasn't anything they could do to help her. She put her head in my hand to be scratched and curled her paw around my fingers, until she relaxed and slipped away. I've had to assist with these before, when I once worked as a vet's assistant, but this is the first time it's been one of my own family.



She fed him three days 'til she ran out of stuff
And the giant was begging for more
He was standing and nibbling her little pink scuffs
When the family burst in at the door
It took twenty men to shove him in a pen
And we shipped him away to the zoo
Let this be a lesson to you all
That your cat should be smaller than you!

She was smaller than the cat in the song, and thankfully not as obnoxious; but she was my grandmother's only cat. I'm sorry, Goldie. I wish I'd seen earlier and paid attention more. And now the last living link with my Grandmother, who passed away shortly after Avalon was born, is gone. Spot has lost his buddy as well. We'll miss your little cat feet, your marvelous green-gold eyes and your purr. That soft weight missing from our laps, that we had loved too well perhaps...So long our little autumn-colored cat.

Afternote: I heard on the radio yesterday evening that Socks, the cat the Clintons had with them in the White House, also passed away the same day. He was 18, twice Goldie's age.