In Loving Memory of Miss Black
From the time that I was very young, my family had cats, and dogs as a part of the family. I was always a "dog person" myself. I loved our cats, but they were "our cats" the "family cats". I never had a cat of my own, by choice. As I said , I was a dog person.
After I got married, Miss Black came into my life. I had another cat before her, a black cat named Rufus. I loved him too, but never really got all that close to him. Miss Black was different. She snuck into my life and stole my heart, before I knew what hit me. She was a beautiful lady, and my "precious little girl."
She wasn't the friendliest of cats, she would bite you if she put her mind to it, and she would ignore you if she didn't feel like bothering. She could be a real witch when she wanted to be. Then there were the sweet times, the times when for no reason she would rub on my leg, or jump up into my lap, or just "talk to me" in her soft ladylike voice.
She had many names, like all of my animals do. She started out as "the black cat", and became Miss Black, then Princess Pearl, then Princess Estrelita. She seemed to know which names that she liked the best, and it was clear that Princess Estrelita was the one that she thought she deserved.
In June of 1999, my baby seemed to be acting strange. She didn't want to eat, something that she always loved to do, as was obviously reflected in her somewhat Reubenesque figure. She wouldn't drink water, and seemed to spend a lot of time in her litter box. Her cry became barely audible and she seemed to have trouble moving around. It happened so fast, or it seemed so to us. We made an appointment with the Vet knowing what the outcome would be. We knew in our hearts that she was dying. The poor thing had the scent of death all around her. My heart was breaking. I sat in the bathroom with her (where we kept her litter box, and where she seemed to want to be) for a long while that morning to say my private goodbye. I couldn't go with her to say goodbye. I had a committment to our church Vacation Bible School, and I had to be there. My husband took her, and promised me that he would stay with her until she was gone. That helped, but it didn't make saying goodbye any easier. I believe that she knew what I was trying to say. I reached down to pet her one last time before leaving, and she mustered up all of her strength to stand up and lick my hand goodbye. Teary eyed and heartbroken, I left the house, knowing that her "Papa" would be with her to hold her in my place.
Even now, almost three years later, I miss her. I see a black cat, and think of her, I still hear her purr sometimes at night when it is quiet and dark. Somedays I look at her pink collar sitting on my dresser and fill up with tears.
I have thought about getting another cat, especially because we have field mice that like to come inside and visit, but I know deep in my heart that there will never be another Miss Black. She was not my cat, she was my baby, my Princess, my friend, and afterall, I am really a "dog person"
I do take comfort in the fact that she is in a better place, and not alone. She is with Arthur and Lancelot, Duffy and Rufus,Percy and Jessie, Fred and Cuddles, Binky and Brandy, Zero and Rocky, waiting for me to cross the Bridge and be with her once more. Some say that animals don't have souls, and don't go to Heaven, but I know better. She and all of the animals that have shared my life, have had hearts of gold, truer and more loving than some humans. She is in Heaven, and she is happy and well.
See Her Pages
In Memory of a Princess
