Pages

"There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage."
--Martin Luther

Sunday 19 June 2016

For the Love of Sadie

This past week was bittersweet. There were some ups: I graduated from my Master's program on Thursday and got to celebrate with friends and family, but a day before, my sweet cat Sadie passed away.



Sadie was my roommate's cat. I moved in with Dana in early 2006. She had a cat, and I had a cat. Somehow, when she left, I had both kitties "temporarily". That was nine years ago!

Sadie and Scout

She was a quirky little feline. She had the most delicate bones and features of any cat I've had. She was extremely skittish and afraid of men. When I started dating Gil, she would hide every time he came by. He didn't believe that I actually had two cats. She gradually got curious, and would sneakily try to check him out. In my old condo, the kitchen and living room were at street level, while the bedrooms were downstairs. We would be sitting on the couch talking or watching TV, and she would stand on the stairs and poke her little head up like a periscope, scoping out the situation but able to run away at the first sight of danger. The only male that she never seemed wary of was my mom's partner Brian. Somehow she loved him from the get-go.

Sadie taught me things about myself, and about love. She had a weird habit of sticking her butt in your face if you were patting her. This made it difficult to cuddle with her and have anything in your hands. I remember one time, she was walking all over me and sticking her bum in the air, and I blurted out, "Why don't you just let me love you?!" It made me think about how easy it is to love those who do what we want them to do, but the nature of real love is selfless, loving others even when we don't understand them or their motivations or they drive us crazy. I'm so blessed to be loved by people even when I am not always the most lovable.

Hiding in a box, as one does

Some people might say that she was only a cat, and I guess that's true. In the past few years, however, she was just what I needed. Sure, she didn't speak or understand my situation. But because she didn't speak, she couldn't say things like, "Sure you're infertile, but at least you get to sleep in on weekends" or "Don't you know that parenting is hard?" She didn't understand, so when I was weeping about my infertility and she walked away, I knew it wasn't personal and she wasn't choosing not to care. She never made me feel like I couldn't be sad over my infertility unless I'd exhausted every single option, or like I had to justify my infertility decisions before I could get any sympathy. Unlike people, she never snubbed me or ignored my pain any more than a cat does naturally. Unlike people, she loved me for who I was. She didn't say anything, but her presence was more than enough. So she was just a cat, but sometimes that made her the best friend I could have had in this messy, ugly, lonely ride through infertility. She was just a cat, but she was my cat, and I will miss her terribly.

I love you, Sadie Lady.


4 comments:

  1. Aww, Sadie sounds precious!! Pets are very special. I lost my beloved. Roxy, (Pomeranian) just before Thanksgiving 2014. Roxy's death was difficult to deal with at the time and I still miss her a lot, but focus on all the happy memories I have of her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your sweet words. Our pets really are so close to our hearts.

      Delete
  2. Sorry to hear this Maggie. It's wonderful that you had her through so many difficult years. I think people understand now more than ever, the vital role that pets play in our lives. They are little, un-judgemental family members. (That does not apply to all cats, I suppose - it sounds like it would apply to Sadie though). My heart goes out to you while you experience this sadness. I had Dakota cremated and had his remains made into beautiful glass jewelry that I cherish - let me know if you're into that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, thanks Marilee. The jewellery is a neat idea. I never thought of that. They did offer me the ashes, but I didn't know what to do with them, so I said no. They also have a service where they do a pawprint and make a little commemorative piece with the pawprint and the pet's name, so I did that for Sadie.

      Delete