Marie at 1 Write Way

“Love speaks me entire, a word / of fur” — Marge Piercy

At times like this, words don’t come easy. Thank goodness for poets. For the full poem, “The cat’s song,” go here.

Junior was euthanized at about 5:15 PM on Thursday, September 14, 2023. A clinical exam revealed that what we thought was a stubborn case of chronic rhinitis, was in fact a huge mass pushing aggressively through his nasal cavity, causing not just congestion but also swelling along his nose and pain. All options except one promised more suffering without any guarantee of relief.

My big boy was suffering big time, and the best we could do for him was help him over the Rainbow Bridge. At least he’ll be in good company with Maxine, Luisa, Mikey, Elodea, Joshua, and Smokey. 

I’m going to miss … I am missing his sweet, sweet face, and his utter dependence on us. I miss how he would sit in the kitchen, an hour or so before lunch time, and wait for his midday meal. He was often underfoot in the kitchen, pushing me to scold him and even chase him out. Except he always slipped back in, his stubborness always making me give in to him.

I miss how he would join us for our meals, knowing that my husband could be counted on to slip him a bit of meat or cheese. I miss how he would lounge with us on the loveseat while we enjoyed a stay-at-home Happy Hour. I miss how fickle he was about which lap to lie on when we were watching TV, sometimes switching laps a couple of times over the course of a movie. 

He entered our lives as a fully grown “neighborhood cat” around early 2009, Greg patiently earning his trust with kibbles and shelter. Fourteen years sounds like a long time, but it went by too fast.

Here’s a few of my favorite photos of Junior.

Head of gray cat with white neck, mouth wide open showing one canine.
Back in the day when Junior had at least one tooth.
Profile of gray cat on an orange pillow, his tongue hanging out.
Junior toothless and showing off his long tongue.
Gray cat with green eyes, white mittens and underbelly, lying on top of magazines in a rectangular basket.
Junior wasn’t much of a reader, but he did enjoy lying on top of magazines.
Man in dark blue bathrobe lying on a couch with a black and white cat lying along his legs and a gray and white cat sitting on his chest, blocking his face from the camera.
A winter routine was for Junior and Maxine to lie on my husband’s lap while he drank coffee and read. This particular morning, Junior decided my husband’s chest made a good perch.
Junior posing for a centerfold.
Keeping my toes warm on a cool March morning.

Junior loved heat, especially from the sun, to the point of trying to lick it.

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While I considered Junior to be my “big boy,” he was partial to Greg, inclined to go into full sleep mode while straddling his leg.

Going …
Going …
Gone.
I miss this sweet face.

 

Marie A Bailey

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26 responses to ““Love speaks me entire, a word / of fur” — Marge Piercy”

    • Thank you, Laura. Our other two cats–Raji and Wendy–are not (yet) lap kitties, although (fingers crossed) that might change if and when temperatures drop. In the meantime, we’ll definitely miss Junior snuggling with us.

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  13. Marie, I know the miss and pain you are feeling. It’s tough to decide to euthanize our pets, and we’ll miss them forever. None of it is easy. Know that you have a multitude of friends who understand and are here to “listen.” Junior was one handsome dude! I’ll miss new pictures, and hope that from time to time you’ll bless us with a retrospective of Junior’s photos.

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    • Thank you so much, Sherrey. It was fun pulling together the photos and even my husband got a chuckle out of them. We keenly feel Junior’s absence but our other two are comforts.

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