Saying goodbye

In the fall of 2003 my heart was stolen by a little grey kitten with a snowy white chest. My son at the time was about 6 and for some reason he named the kitten Patches. Now don’t get me wrong its a cute name but this kitten had no patches at all, more like a large swath of white on his chest and a white leg but my son was so in love with the kitty and the name that I couldn’t break his heart. So Patches stuck. My step father at the time commented once that he looked more like Norman Bates of Psycho with his piercing green eyes and his deep grey color and that became his unofficial name.

Patches had to live at my mother’s for a couple of years as I couldn’t have pets but she had a barn, a couple of horses, a couple of other cats and 20 acres so Patches had a lot of fun and freedom in his first two years. He was extremely chatty, even as a kitten. He would “talk” to anyone who was at my mothers and follow them around until they acknowledged him. He was wonderful if a little demanding for attention to be paid to him. In 2005 I finally was in a place that he could come live with us and I was a little worried that he wouldn’t want to be an indoor cat but I didn’t need to worry. He was more than content to not have to share with other cats, have a nice warm bed and he could still call the birds from the front window. Not to mention any and every soft surface became his spot to sleep. He ruled our house with his little white paw.

We had to put him down in March at the age of 15. He would have been 16 in October. He had a very aggressive tumor on his shoulder. His picture popped up in my Facebook memories and it made me think about him this morning. I still miss how every morning when I woke up and left the bedroom he would be waiting there for me and he would let me know how unhappy he had been that he wasn’t allowed in our room. I was mildly allergic to him so as long as he didn’t sleep with me I was okay. But he reminded me every morning how unhappy that made him. When he was younger he used to stand on his back feet and “scratch” at the door or put his paw under it like he was trying to pull the door to him or something. There are a million and one little things that he did that were at times cute or hugely annoying but I still miss him. I used to think I would want to get another cat right away but I’m not sure if I’m ready yet or even if I will want another cat. I hope that I will because there is just something about having a pet that makes life seem a little more complete. When I was a single mom and lived places I couldn’t have pets life always felt just a little bit less. Someday I hope I will be ready to share my life with another kitten or even an older rescue cat. I think I will know when that time comes but for now I will just remember Patches/Norman and smile. ♥♥♥