george died last week.
she died like she lived: freely and patiently. i was close by, crying. i sat on the floor beside her, my hand on her back as she exhaled her last breath. i watched, a little stunned, as her body went stiff, then stilled. we were in the basement. i was shocked at the sound of her last breath. shocked at the movement of her legs…which seemed to force this air out…or was a bi-product of the leaving. this dying was something between beauty and ugly. something so raw. something i don’t understand. the girls were upstairs. ezra kept calling me. “when are you coming up?” i called back crying. “george is dying now. just wait please.” george’s dying was short. ezra didn’t have to wait long for me. i returned to them all puffy and red. sniffling back snot. wiping my eyes and my nose with my sweater sleeve.
we buried her with cedar and sage and tobacco. and a stone with my heart on it. i placed her in white cloth with blue flowers. and covered her with dirt. she is underground now.
i miss her. i notice her absence especially when i return home. she is not here wanting out. or wanting in. she isn’t sleeping on my bed or curled up on the heater grate. she doesn’t want cheese. nor is she here to sit on my friends. nor purr when petted. she doesn’t join the girls and i in bed at storytime. climbing all over us with and for love. my experience is that she is gone. i remember her. but i don’t feel her presence.
i don’t really know what dead is. other than dead.
sometimes i think i catch a glimpse of her. a darkness out of the corner of my eye. i suppose i was almost always aware of her. i watched for her on the back deck. i would let her in or out whenever she wanted. it didn’t bother me. i loved that she was free to come and go. the habit of opening doors for her has not died. and part of me is still waiting for her. my eyes searching for her movement. ivy suggested this morning that it might be her spirit i am seeing. i like that idea. ezra wanted to know what spirit is. and the best i had to offer was “the part of us that does not die when we die.” she simply nodded. maybe because she knows that i don’t really know.
george taught me many things. i am pretty sure she accepted me exactly as i am. she was fine and content with life. she was loving and ruthless. she rubbed her face against my children’s hands. and killed chipmunks. it didn’t matter if i ignored her or loved her up. she was the same. she just was.
i have never met anyone quite like her. human or otherwise. i realize that she was my best friend. she lived with me for almost 17 years. she watched me grow. she offered unwavering existence. she just was. her way of being in the universe was exquisite. i aspire to her chilled-out-ness. i aspire to a calm quiet acceptance of me. and the occasional outburst of ruthlessness (but not with chipmunks!).
beinglovely 
So sorry to hear about the loss of such an amazing feline. What a lovely post. It made me sad for the loss of fine furry friends.
thank you dear one. loss feels sad to me too.
Rest in peace George. I remember when you were a kitten – was it from Marc’s friend Amanda perhaps? Can it really be that 17 years ago, a full lifetime of a cat, is almost how long I’ve known you? I am humbled. Thanks for sharing.
yes bart. george came from tabby. tabby was amanda’s cat. and yes this summer it will be 17 years. pretty awesome. so much wildness happened in that time. blessings to you dear friend.
So sorry for your loss. One of my cats passed away this summer, she was 18 years old. It’s always so hard losing a beloved pet.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful tribute to George. He will always be in your heart. Forever.
Take care.
thank you. it is awesome to spend so many years with a cat isn’t it. and yes george will always be in my heart. thank you for the reminder. take good care too.
My hope is that my Jasper (who we lost in July and was also 17 ish) will find your George in kitty heaven. I can picture them now, chasing chipmunks and basking in the sun with lots of nothingness on the agenda for the day. Hugs to you. xoxo
oh i love that idea!!!!
That was a lovely post/tribute.
thank you!!!!
So sorry for your loss, I can feel your sadness. [[ HUG ]]. Rest in peace George.
thank you. i am taking that hug! and sending one back.
Awwww. Loved you George. Can still feel her fluff and I always think of her when I have red and yellow peppers
thanks leah. george was a happy red pepper eater for years. and she loved to steal asparagus. i guess i’ll get to eat the asparagus from the garden this year!!!!! sending you love!
I am so sorry to read about George’s passing. Our pets ask for so little and give us so much.
thank you nancy. i agree. george taught me so much in your freely accepting life. i am happy to say, at least from my human perspective, that she had a good one!
I have tears of sweetness in my eyes. you found a perfect way to describe such a loss. beautiful words from the heart. i remember what it was like to realize, through his absence, just how aware i had been of my cat’s presence all the time, when he was alive.
thank you reid. i remember visiting you at your apartment in guelph many many years ago. i remember cats. it is wild what life and death teaches us.
Oh Chantalle, I’m so sorry for your loss. She sounds like an amazing being. And you’ve written about her in this totally wonderful way that you have. I feel priviliged to read it.
thanks aimee. george was an awesome creature. a sweet sweet soul. i was totally blessed to live with her for so long. still feeling the loss!
Hello Chantalle,
I am so sorry at the loss of your best friend, but grateful that you were able to know her so.
I’ve found that the feelings of bittersweet after losing someone close – human or animal – have been a comfort somehow. I love how you’ve also managed to honour her life in this telling.
I have been befriended by two cats who helped me learn an appreciation of the feline. Grateful.
In the part of your story where you spoke of coming upstairs after she had died, I saw a shadow in the lower right hand corner … I just looked back and it was there again. I’m not sure if I was reminded of the shadow cats I have seen after my two felines friends had died … sometimes I feel things … the mystery’s comforting, too in its way.
thanks deb. relationships are beautiful. even the endings can be.