A Lesson From Cleo- our Cat

Many people regard their animals as children, especially those who do not have the non-furry kind. My husband and I are such a couple; carrying on about what one of the kitties just did, how cute they are, how they act or resemble one of their human parents and so on.

The strange thing about this maternal and paternal relationship to an animal, is that it is inevitable that the parents out-live the young.

When we got Cleo and Star from the Menomonie, WI Humane Society two years ago, we expected to have them for a good 15 years or so.

They were lively little ones and only tortured us with one sleepless night when we first got them.

They were from the same Humane Society, but not siblings. They were not at all fond of one another to begin with, although no outright adopted- sibling rivalries broke out.

Shortly after, when they both got "fixed" they bonded through shared adversity at the veterinary clinic. They both received the presumed faster healing and less painful laser surgery- and more expensive. But our two little girls really bonded during that short time. We were shocked when the veterinary technician said that they were grooming one another- well, more likely, Cleo- the elegant Maine Coon was grooming the ordinary black, dominant, Star(ry).

From then on they were buddies. Star received some grooming lesson from Cleo- who's queenly name perfectly describes her, even down to the exotic walk that she purrr-fected! Seriously, even human men found her sexy! Star, the dominant figure (because of course being just 6 months older made her superior) is a simple black cat with white on her belly, who talks a lot and plays fetch- really!

Cleo came into our life bearing gifts. Most delivered in smiles, laughs, cuddles, dots on the window glass from her wet nose, and pictures of her cute chubby nose as it scrunched while she chew/cleaned her fur and many more- but I won't totally bore you with her cute-ness!

Most amazing, is what she did that is not necessarily natural for a cat. She took care of another that was not a part of her family, Star. Perhaps they formed their own little tribe, just the two of them- since the time they spent in mutual agony at the vet. clinic- so perhaps that justifies the following actions- but the none-the-less, what an example!

This goddess of a cat taught our little uncoordinated and simpleton cat, Star how to walk properly, jump (really!), clean (especially those, um, hard to reach places- until she did it on her own) and sometimes Cleo groomed Star just because; maybe just because she cared.

Eight days after her passing- I can now am able to share this with minimal tears.

What else? Well, a couple of weeks ago when I took her into the vet. because she was very lethargic- she had such a countenance of love and trust. Although she was caringly being examined and poked and prodded, there was such a feeling of faithful companionship from her. I could read in her wise eyes- this is supposed to be as it is, I love you, and trust you to do as you will.

The test results were grim- really by all medical standards she should have been dead. But not our tough little girl. We faced the medical and financial prognosis- the former harder to ignore than the latter. We decided to go ahead with blood transfusions and tests to buy us time to find out the cause of her extreme anemia.

In the end, Cleo lived a couple more weeks. She spent about 2 days in the hospital. She was holding her own, so she was sent home with heavy antibiotics and immune suppressant drugs. Anyone who knows me is aware of how leery I am of using prescription medication- it does have it's place- albeit, in my opinion, in very few cases- primarily critical ones like this.

Cleo put up minimal fuss in taking her pills. Sometimes she even swallowed on the first attempt. In hind-sight, I think this is because she didn't want to put up a fight or use up energy. It was hard for me to impose such a thing on her- something so unnatural to her (and humans as long as I'm on the topic).

A couple days before we had her put to sleep I found a tiny, white pill on the floor. Apparently she had succeeded at hiding the pill in her meaty- Maine Coon cheek and spit it out later. This was the immune suppressant- a key drug for her stability. The day after she was euthanized, I found another one. I keep quite a clean house, so it was likely only a day or two earlier that she had expelled it from her mouth- in a gentle and likely lazy protest.

She graced us with her charm, tiredly in her last night and morning with us. She shared her love. She purred nearly all the time- even at the vet.! She lived life to esthetically please her crowd. She charmed and unequivocally loved. She groomed Star even after a good tussle. She sent out radiant love and messages of ease through all of the medical procedures- even the last. As long as you didn't have a thermometer in your hand, she demonstrated the essence of living in the flow of live- que sera, sera.

I learned and saw love that knew no limit, compassion that extended her natural instincts, trust that can only be conveyed without words and a knowing that the Divine exists in all of us- and we can experience it through one another- Live, Love, Trust, Just be

The cause of her illness is unknown. We stumbled upon some information just a few days ago, leading us to think that it is likely that microchip that was implanted before her adoption is a likely cause. She was having neurological problems before this final incident that had the symptoms of Vestibular Disease- most common in older dogs. Tumors are known to begin to grow around these microchips. Our other cat, by the way, does not have one of these chips and is very lively and healthy. Perhaps this will be of help to someone out there.

With Love- Tara

X and Rainbow is what we saw in the sky shortly after having her put to sleep that day- what do you think this means? It was a bright clear day- no rain. There was no doubt for us, where this came from.