Love

It took a year for me to finally write this down to do him justice.

It's kind of sad that I've never really been in love with anyone, 

Except for a cat. 

But the cat kinda still counts 

I mean yeah it was a cat, but he was my cat 

And it's rare for cat to know they are your cat 

But he knew. 

He was special. 

He was one of those cats that other cats would've had to hunt for 

Like cats that bring mice to humans to say 

Wow you're an awful hunter 

So maybe we were that cat to him 

The one that said wow you're actually a really cruddy excuse for a cat 

And he might've loved us more for the fact that every day we fed him 

Even though he never gave us a dead animal in return 

Even though I didn't particularly desire a mouse dead or alive from him 

I think what made him special was that he figured out we didn't want dead mice 

We wanted his affection and that's what he gave us 

He never tried to claw my face off 

And never wanted me to leave him on his own 

And in a way that's how he showed he loved me back 

And in his cat way he tried to talk 

To try and get me to understand 

And because I loved him I learned the language 

Like he was a foreign exchange student I had a crush on 

But he learned my language too 

When I called him he answered 

Sometimes the answer was 'I'm not coming' 

Probably because he was laying down 

Or when he got old, because he couldn't come. 

He was very human 

And just like humans he got sick 

Wanderlust at an early age had ravaged him 

Making him a shell of what he used to be 

I took care of all the scrapes and bumps 

But I couldn't see the inside of him and it's a general rule of thumb that a cat does not turn inside out when you ask 

So I didn't ask him to turn inside out I just took care of what I saw

Slowly he began wilting away like autumn leaves 

His fur becoming greasy and bones poking out under his skin 

I carried him most places 

Because I loved him too much to make him walk 

It was hard marking the day when he made his last jump up to the bathroom sink 

To get a drink of water from a Dixie cup that we used to fill for him because he preferred cups to bowls 

And even though he couldn't jump up on the bed 

Or walk for long without collapsing 

The cat still tried to follow me around 

Because the stupid thing loved me 

And I really don't care if it's sad that I loved him back 

Because cats are usually really nasty 

And he was really rare 

I know the feeling of the sandpaper tongue on my cheek 

And I learned cat language

 ... Catlish ... Catonese.... ... Catese 

And he learned his name and other important things in our language 

Maybe the most important thing was 

With his withering old body 

He gave everything to say 

I love you too

Reviews

[B. Boileau]

Somewhat Dearing,somewhat heart wrenching piece. The love for animals can be in some cases stronger than that for people. You words are loud and clear. Although not an entirely happy ending. It did bring a smile knowing the special relationship.
bill

[Julia Ledo]

Thank you very much, I had nearly forgotten about this piece. I wrote it nearly three years ago.