Greetings!
On Saturday, Mara, a super loving gray cat, moved on.
Many years ago, a kind-hearted young lady took in three kittens in different periods of time. They were cats with health problems. As far as I knew, at least two of the kittens if not all of them were rescued from horrific living conditions. Mara's body was filled with parasites when the young lady took her in. It took many trips to the vet's office before Mara was nurtured back to health. The other two cats were named Jake and Luna. Jake was a female cat with long white hair. She had a heart problem. Luna was a black male cat. In the beginning years, Luna used to hide from view when there were guests in the house. He was afraid of people because he remembered the cruelty that had happened to him.
The young lady later met a young man. They fell in love, and got married about seven years ago. They are now the proud parents of 3 adorable kids. They love their cats, and bring them for regular check-ups just as their own children. Yes, the young lady is our daughter-in-law.
My husband, our older son, and I saw the cats for the first time in Feb. of 2007. Mara was the smallest among the cats. However, she was the ambassador or leader. She was loving and friendly. She greeted us, and let us pat her. All the cats were lovable. Mara looked pretty special in her aura. Luna tried to hide under the bed, but I still managed to see how healthy and shiny his black hair was. It was a beautiful match to Jake's shiny, snowy white long hair.
Mara had been sick for quite some time. Our daughter-in-law brought her to see the veterinarian many times. Despite of different treatments and medicine, Mara did not get better. Small as she had been, she continued to lose weight. Recently, a blood spot had developed in one of her eyes. After the examination, the vet had a long talk with our daughter-in-law.
I got a call from my beloved on Thursday night. They loved Mara very much, and did not want her to suffer anymore. They asked if we wanted to say goodbye to Mara on Friday night for they had made an appointment with the veterinarian on Saturday.
Thursday night or in the early hours of Friday, I pulled myself up to pray for Mara. In fact, I had prayed for her ever since I learned she was sick. Mentally, I imagined talking to the cat's soul asking about her choice. Deep inside, I knew our daughter-in-law, who raised and understood Mara, had made the right choice. Still, I recited a special prayer seven times for the best wellbeing of Mara, and surrendered the situation into the hand of the loving divine. My older son who always put up a warrior front took the news hard, and he too prayed during the night. Inside this warrior, there was a soft, loving heart. Though some of us understood moving on was part of life and nothing to dread about, but, as humans, did we not pray for miracles!
Our grandchildren were young. So we waited until the kids went to bed.
In the family room, we sat around Mara. Somehow, the other two cats came and sat with us. Jake looked at Mara with compassion. Luna came close to us, and even allowed us to pat him. Then he moved to sit beside us. Mara was very weak. She seemed to understand. She looked at us, and allowed us to show her love. At one point, she came close and stayed by my left knee. There we were, four adults and two cats sat around Mara with lots of love. I had a camera in my pocket, but I did not take it out. I could feel the sacredness in the air which I did not want to disturb. Though I did not take any picture, but I knew the moment was recorded in eternity. That night, I pulled myself up again to pray for Mara.
Before noon on Saturday, my husband and I were on the road. My phone rang. My younger son called. I knew he must be calling to let me know Mara had moved on. I pressed the answer button, but something went wrong. The ringing stopped. I did not get to talk to my son. Strangely, on the lower half of the screen of the cell phone appeared the space for me to text a reply. However, I saw a word in the space for text. There was the word "Thanks!" I was surprised and confused. I had not pressed any button. Could it be my son had sent me a text message since I missed his call? I looked at the screen carefully. It was definitely not a text message from outside, and the text space was for me to type a reply. I did not know much about the cell phone the same as I knew little about the computer. I received text messages, but I never sent one. I cleared the screen, and called my son. Indeed, he told me Mara had moved on. Later, I thought about the "Thanks!". Could this be a communication from Mara? I asked my older son if there was a button for "Thanks!" on my Verizon LG phone. He said he did not know.
In one of our visits, Mara jumped onto our younger son's lap. Proudly, she looked around the people in the family room as if to say that she was his favorite. My older son and I remembered that scene clearly.
Mara used to greet our son when he came home from work. We had seen our son carried Mara in one hand while doing chores with the other hand. Our daughter-in-law and son had mentioned many times how loving and protective Mara was towards their children after they were born. Because of her gentle nature, Mara was the cat that the kids could touch, kiss, and say good night. Indeed, Mara was very loved.
Goodbye, Mara. Hooray, Mara! You are free! Mara, we celebrate your life. A life well lived - you have loved, and you are very, very loved!
Love,
Q of D
P.S. My husband did not go with us to say goodbye to Mara. He grew up in the village, and viewed pets differently. However, his attitude had changed a lot since our older son brought home a strayed kitten four years ago. (Please see my post A Gift from Mei Mei, and a Blessing from Divine) As if it is his divine mission, our cat gives my husband his undivided attention and lots of love. My husband is still not that comfortable to let the cat sit on his lap. However, nowadays he gladly asks the cat to sit next to him on the couch all the time. To me, that is huge.
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