Grasshopper 1994-2010

Last night when I heard her cries of pain, I knew it was time to let go of my cat, Grasshopper  http://tempestinapot.blogspot.com/search?q=grasshopper.  Like everything else about her nothing was ever easy.  She was and remained to the end a difficult creature.  I knew this from the first day I got her and after sixteen years she went to the great kitty beyond pissed off and ready to do some serious damage.

I have always loved cats and it is a rare thing for a cat not to like me, so it is with heavy heart that I confess Grasshopper only tolerated me.  I was the person that feed her, gave her water, and when she was in the mood I was allowed to rub her behind the ears.  She did not like people, other cats, dogs, loud noises, the vet, wet cat food, and just about everything else.  I tried over the years to ingratiate myself to her, but only when she wanted something would she even consent to recognize I even existed.

The staff at the vets knew her as "that scary cat."  They could only work on her after she had been knocked unconscious.  Any treatment was done very quickly so they could get her in a cage before the anesthetic wore off.  This morning they all came through to pay their respect to the cat that always got the "use caution" sticker on her kennel.  I heard her howls of anger as they prepared her for the end, it only made me sob harder.

Despite her prickly behavior and aloof demeanor, I loved her very much.  She made me work harder to be a good pet parent. I had to learn to give with no expectations of any return of that care.  I was her companion, not the other way around and I am humbled by her spirit of independance even to the very end.  Her chair, the only thing I think she really loved, sits empty, I will miss the indifferent presence that sat there, not needing anything, but herself to be content.