The End for a Critter

Gemini watching me from her box.

A well known fact about me, I love animals.  I love to watch them, I love to play with them.  I love just about everything there is about animals.  I've helped rescue some.  I've cared for sick and ailing animals.  I've even had to learn the very delicate art of rolling at cat in a towel just so that I could get food down her stomach.

So, that is why today is a bit of a hard day for me, and as a writer a day to study and examine my thoughts and feelings.

This morning one of our neighborhood cats was mauled to death by someone's bet boxer.  The cat was a lovely brindle (grey and white striped) cat.  She would have turned sixteen this year, except for this morning's violence leaving fur and gore scattered about my neighbor's front yard.  Q-Bear was a friendly cat, happy to greet me, happy to purr, loved a good belly rub, but she ached and was slow moving, so she became easy pickings for the dog this morning.

Now, first off, I know animals eat animals in the wild, but this wasn't about eating another animal.  This was just cruelty.  Secondly, I have dogs and cats and they live in harmony because they weren't raised where they starved or violence was a method of life.  Though I shouldn't really presume much about the boxer's home life, but somethings can be discerned from the actions of the dog.

But I'm feeling a lot of anger right now.  I'm mad that my neighbor would have a fifteen year old cat still living on the street rather than bring her inside for the twilight years.  I'm mad at my other neighbor who saw the whole ordeal go down and didn't try to run off the dog.  I'm angry because a member of my house should have been alerted to the situation, that I was not able to attend to, because sitting in a day dream state and ignoring someone shouting and screaming outside was a preferable state.

I'm also sad. Bear was a very gentle cat and a very sweet creature to be sure.  So, I have to admit to a little sadness.  I'm going to miss her throaty call and getting to pet Bear in the evenings.  More than that, I can only imagine Bear's last moments in total fear.  Being chased by a snarling beast, teething digging into her flesh as she is jostled and jerked all about wildly, trying to fight back as best as she could, but knowing it wasn't enough.  Pity crawls deep within me as well.

To close out today, I'll leave with a thought.  Last October one of the neighborhood cats had kittens, and one evening when I came home, I found that one of the kittens had been hit by a car.    Less than a week later, I found another one laying in the street in a pool of gore.  My heart always breaks in these situations and I developed a little prayer.

"I did not know you, but for your life I honor you.
I did not see care for you in this life, but for your struggle, we were kindred.
As my brother I will do my best to commend your body to the Earth and your soul to Heaven.
As my brother I loved you so seek friends upon your arrival and we shall meet once more."

A change for Q-Bear:

"As my friend, I loved you, so seek your sister Bama in the lush fields beyond and she'll take good care of you until we meet again."