Bidding A Tearful Goodbye To An Old Friend

by Doug Quance

Associate Broker

Author website

Sometimes Life’s End Brings Meaning To Life

If you don’t like mushy posts – now is a good time to move along.

Back in the Spring of 1998, my sister was involved in some sort of charity work that prompted her to call me up one day and say, “I’ve found a cat for you!”

“What kind of Siamese cat is it?” I replied.

“Well… it’s not a Siamese cat – but she’s a really cool cat,” she shot back.

“Sis, you know I’m a cat snob…”

“Doug, the cat’s owner is on his deathbed. His family can’t take the cat. He has attended to all of his affairs – and his cat is the last detail he needs to attend to. She’s a really cool cat!” my sister insisted.

So I agreed to take on this full-grown female feline.

When she arrived, my sister couldn’t remember her name – but that didn’t matter. She was big and fat and colored black and white like a Gateway computer box… so I named her Gateway.

I took her to the vet to make sure she was okay, and the vet told me that she thought she was five or six years old at that time – and in good health… other than being rather heavy.

For the first few months, she kept to herself – often hiding under my end tables. When I would try to pick her up, she would hiss at me and act like she would bite me… so I gave her plenty of space – after all, I didn’t know how she had been treated in the past.

I remember the first time I let her go outside… a neighbor was walking his Great Dane, and Gateway ran up to that dog sideways – trying to look as big and menacing as she possibly could – with her fur standing on end. It was truly comical, as she had no claws – and that dog could’ve made an hors d’ oeuvre out of her.

Over the years, Gateway and I became the closest of friends. She asked for very little, but gave in ways that are hard to measure. She never got up on the counters or knocked anything off of the tables. She was truly the ideal pet. I have left her for as long as ten days without any kind of a mishap – try that with a dog.

Kitty was a talker – but not a yakker. She would stand patiently at the door to go out… but would only speak to you if spoken to. When you let her out or let her back in, she would always thank you, as well. People were always amazed at how truly courteous Gateway was… and they found her combination purr and meow beyond adorable.

Two weeks ago, I moved her over to my girlfriends house as I would be moving in the following week. My girlfriend has known and loved Gateway for the last eleven years… but it has been several years since she subjected her home to the “furball”.

The first thing that I noticed was that Gateway was incredibly happy with the move. She loved my girlfriend – and my girlfriend let her sleep in bed with her… which Kitty loved, as I stopped letting her in the bedroom years ago because of all of the fur she would leave everywhere. By the time I moved in, I could see that both my girlfriend and Kitty were as happy together as I’ve seen either one of them in a long time.

One of the peculiar things that Gateway would do is stand guard when one of us went to the bathroom. I know – that’s sounds strange… but she would park in the doorway facing away from you – and making sure no one bothered you while you took care of your business. She felt like it was her job, I guess.

Since my girlfriend has a hearing impairment, Kitty would let her  know that someone was at the door. I know that sounds as strange as the bathroom guard duty – but like I said… this was a special kitty.

On Wednesday, I remember talking to my girlfriend about how happy Gateway had been… purring all the time and obviously happy that we were letting her sleep on the bed with us – and my girlfriend replied that she was really happy having her, as she was bringing more joy to her than she could ever expect.

On Thursday, we were out on the deck enjoying the beautiful weather – and Kitty spent a great deal of the day out there, as well. She loved the outdoors. My girlfriend thought a flea had jumped on her, so I brought Kitty in and gave her a bath – then brought her back out on the deck so she could dry off. Unlike most cats, Gateway was very good about taking baths – and although it was a little early, I fed her some wet food AND some of my girlfriend’s roasted chicken she had made the night before as a little treat for the hassle of having to lick herself all over to put those millions of hairs back into place.

While my girlfriend was relaxing on the couch, I headed downstairs to my office to get some work done. While I was working, Gateway came and rubbed up against my legs – as she did all the time – then laid down under my desk – which she also did all the time. I paid no attention to her until I heard her gasp for air.

At first, I thought she might be struggling to cough up a hairball – but she was laying on her side staring forward with her eyes wide open. I ran around to the other side of the desk and picked  her up and raced upstairs with her – but it was too late. My attempts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful, as her heart had stopped.

I held her in my arms for at least a  half an hour while my girlfriend and I wept and told her what a good kitty she was and how much we were going to miss her.

So I wrapped her up in a fluffy towel and gently laid her in a heavy cardboard box to spend the night on the patio until the next morning when I could find a spot to give her a proper burial. In the shade of a River Birch on the high bank of the creek running on the back of the property, I dug her grave and laid my furry friend to rest. This Fall, I will find a nice Dogwood or something similar to plant on top of her grave to ensure that she won’t be disturbed in the future.

In cat years, Gateway was somewhere between 80 and 88 human years. Over the last year, I had noticed that she was becoming less active – and she was having a hard time jumping up on the couch to sit with me… but her demeanor never changed. She never complained about anything… well, other than not getting wet food at dinnertime. In my eyes, she was still the young, feisty kitty that would take on a Great Dane.

I am so very thankful that she was able to spend her last few weeks with my girlfriend and me; that her last day was one of her best – in spite of the bath she tolerated so well; and that she sought me out to say goodbye before she passed from this world. I will miss her like words can not describe.

Gateway taught me how not to be a cat snob.