Prissy
Delightful, calm, kind, loving, slightly destructive, finicky, determined. I can think of a thousand different ways to describe her. She wasn’t even supposed to be mine. When she was born in a litter of six or seven, she was slated to go to another little girl. I had selected another kitten- DC (after That Darn Cat). Then the little girl who picked her found out she was allergic. Then she contracted a terrible wolf worm. Then she ended up staying. D.C. disappeared after about a year, but Prissy stuck around. The name was selected on the way to the vet as my mother determined it would have to be done before walking in the waiting room. The fact that there was a giant hole in her neck did not bother her as much as the idea of an unnamed pet.
Prissy was outside the first couple of years. Then, when we moved, another cat moved onto our farm. He wouldn’t let her eat, so my parents started letting her in to eat. Soon she was sleeping on my bed. I have not had another cat since that could sleep with me the way Prissy could. I gave her a towel on the corner of the end of my bed, and she literally only slept there, coming and going so quietly I never woke up. She would come up to me, allow me to say goodnight by scratching her stomach, then head down to her spot as I rolled over.
Prissy was so much a part of my life. She was a constant comfort when I was grounded or sick in bed. She was never intentionally mean. She was in perfect health for years and years. And now, I don’t know what’s going to happen to her. This morning my mother called to tell me she was practically unconscious and heading to the vet, most likely to be put to sleep. I was horrified. I can’t believe that the sweet kitten I loved so much and even kept a photo of in my locket is on the verge of not being with me anymore. She’s almost 20 years old and has literally been a part of my life since I was 7. Two decades with one animal and you feel like they are as much a part of your family as your aunts and uncles and even parents.
How do you deal with the grief of realizing that your own aging process means losing those creatures that mean so much to us? I plan on posting a pic as soon as one of her is digital.
