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Kitty Star of the Week for January 15 - 21, 2006
This week we have a memorial to Spider. His person-mom writes,
"When the household would get noisy from the rampage of grandchildren or any other
situation, Spider would quickly retreat to the front door and give you that, 'Let me out
of this madhouse!' look in a semi-desperate expression on his face. He had returned after
a five-year absence, rather run down in his health and tired and older looking than his
years. What ever he had been through, we don’t know, but whoever had him did get him
fixed. Another strange and mysterious feature of his disappearance was that when I
separated from my husband for five years, Spider disappeared not long after I left, and
showed up again just before I came back home myself. It was like he knew that I was coming
home again.
"The next door neighbors swore that he was the suitor to their Cymric calico female Manx
feline temptress and that they had seen them both together in a compromising situation
that produced three litters of kittens. Spider had managed to attract a younger female
in his golden years and that made him feel rather grandiose. Our neighbors also said that
they hung out together constantly. Luckily the neighbors really liked Spider very much
and were happy to think that he was the sire of their Manx cat, Cheyenne’s kittens, even
though he was supposedly neutered. Spider was not the type of male who just had his fun
and had the attitude of 'wham bam thank you ma'am', so it seemed. He had integrity and
honor that most humans do not possess.
"We obtained Spider from a litter of our own kittens we had back in 1992 to a sweet
Siamese mix female. Spider was not a full-blooded flamepoint Siamese mix, but he sure
fooled you to look at him. That is why I think he disappeared -- he appealed to somebody
and since he was a beautiful cat with a great disposition, he was catnapped away. When
he returned after five years, he had a bad runny eye that I had to give him anti-biotic
ointment on and occasional urinary tract infections. He was still dad’s lap cat and
would climb up on the recliner with him every night for a love session and attention.
You could not touch him on his back area as it was evident that he had arthritis and was
in pain alot. Sweetpea, one of the Manx kitties we kept from the litter of his
children, would love to sit by him quietly as long as he was there. She would stay by him
as if she was saying, 'Are you my daddy?' Spider was very tolerant of her attentions.
"As his health declined he would retreat and hide out in my bedroom closet. The vet said
that he was dying, and I decided to make his last days happy and comfortable. I spoiled
him with canned tuna and gourmet style cat food. He always ate well, and I knew that he
did this to please us -- he knew that we loved and wanted him to live and he really did a
good fight to the end. The last couple weeks I had to carry him around as he could not
walk anymore and was incontinent. I allowed him to keep his dignity by keeping him clean
and the pad underneath him dry at all times.
When he passed away, I had already prepared days in advance, and had his grave dug on the side of
our house. I wrapped him carefully in the cute baby blanket I had wrapped him in during
the end and marked the grave on top with rocks I had spray painted gold. I also
decorated it with pretty silk flowers, and the grandchildren were impressed with how pretty
I had made him his little patch of area to lay him in peace. Even though Spider has been
gone nearly three years it seems like he is still with us. Our pets can teach us so much
through their enduring love and faithfulness."
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