Once We Were Five

 

I am trying  so hard to accept that Poppy has gone, reality is cruel to the extreme, tears come so easily, the unknown is the worst of losing any pet.

Felicity looks, sits on the step and waits at her usual time after 4 p.m. looks in my wardrobe, under the bed, and any other place that might be a hidey hole for Poppy. Our family has suddenly shrunk to one, our matriarch, Felicity. Born late December,  1998, a silver tabby, short legs, thick fur, and a bushy tail,  she is now   14 plus, always a solemn girl, definitely a one man’s cat .

Next to arrive at our home was Finn, in 2002, he and Mayumi were such good mates,The morning she was leaving, he hid, YES, really hid, until there were only a few minutes before we left to meet the bus. There he was, under the hydrangea bushes.  She picked him up, and he snuggled into her head, tears flowed down her face as she said goodbye. When Mayumi visited, in 2011, I showed her Finn’s grave.  We stood together, remembering the year of 2002, happy times.Here he is, Christmas Day, 2004, playing with paper and ribbon.

 

Toto arrived, and  we added another girl to the feline family, affectionate, cuddly, pale grey/blue. Her brother Oscar died when such a wee kitten, she always had weepy eyes after an accident when she collided into a wall. December 2008, ill for about a week, our lovely vet Dave helped her to the bridge.

I have always liked this photo  so much, she sat so quietly amid  the flowers, grassy bushes were her favourite, run, pounce, flip up and over,  and play in the fronds.

 

Tom crept into our lives, arriving late at night, a quiet feed at the biscuit tin,then departing just as silently,This continued for several months, we thought our own were extra hungry!!! Then one night, there were 2 ginger boys waiting.He was the perfect gentleman, waited till the others had had a meal, never had a fight, not even a claw out at all.  He was the original peripatetic cat, here for a few days or longer, then away for some days or a week or two, Arriving back, raucous cries from the cat door to our bedroom, a huge flop on the carpet, and loud  purring. One of us would get up and give him a much needed feed. In the morning he  might be on our bed, or by the fire, or on my sewing table. 6th  April, 2011, he left early that morning, and we don’t know where he went, maybe to the other home we were so sure he had.  Be happy Tom, wherever you are. The late afternoon sun shone on his  deep ginger coat.

 

And now to Poppy, our wee girl who has left for places unknown. Tall legs, tabby with ginger threaded through, a real battler in life. We shared so much together, last year as the vet visits  in May took their toll, fur degloved off a hind leg,  surgery late one  Sunday night ( yes, after hours fee as well),  dressings twice a week. a cat cage for each visit, trips in the car, not one part of this was happy at all.I had tears one day at the vet’s, as I left her there for another operation . I hope for a miracle, but after 3 weeks, accept she might have found the Rainbow Bridge,Was the gate open for her? Did Finn and Toto meet her with joy? I accepted their deaths with sadness, grief, and tears, but closure was there.

Was Tom calling her, when  she left on 6th  April?…. 2 years to the day, maybe he is there waiting too at the bridge,What a greeting she would have been given, if she arrived.

Acceptance at our loss will come at some stage,meanwhile I look at her photos, and see  the happiness we had together.

Quotation of the day, from Patrick Overton

“ When you walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown,

 you must believe that one of two things will happen.

There will be something solid for you to stand  upon,

or you will be taught to fly”

Greetings from Jean