Emily

Emily
Originally uploaded by Elizalou.

Emily the great grey cat is now gone. My boyfriend made the best decision he could in letting her go, there is no doubt about that, as she was suffering. Even though she was pretty old and I knew in the back of my mind that she would not be here forever, her last illness came on rather suddenly and it was stunning that she was gone so quickly. I tried to be strong for my boyfriend, but when I first walked into his house the day after she died and she was not there, I was overcome and had to excuse myself to the bathroom before properly greeting his mother and cry my eyeballs out for a few minutes. She was not mine, but I loved her.

I have only known Emily a relatively short while, so it is not my memories of her that matter most, but I will always remember her. She stayed with me for about two months after her hurricane rescue, living in my room away from the other cats most of the time. She would venture out sometimes and they would commence a triangulated staring session. She warmed up to me during those months for the first time, coming out from under the bed for treats and even sleeping with me for the first time on the last night of her stay.

Since then, she has never loved me with the mighty love she reserved for my boyfriend, but she would come to me sometimes when I wiggled my fingers and let me brush her occasionally. She loved being petted and drinking water out of the bathtub faucet. She would jump out with a wet forehead, her thirst happily quenched. She also liked sitting on the back of the futon and lying on the bed in a shaft of sunlight from the window. She loved lying on B.'s chest most of all, I think. One of my last memories of her was laughing at the way she crouched down and approached the new Christmas tree as if an explorer or a stalking tiger. How do you comfort someone you love who's lost the cat he had for, like, 15 years? I don't know. She was very well taken care of and loved and just one of those very good, sweet cats. Life will not be the same without her.