Animals are one of the great joys of our lives. Many of us go through life accompanied by at least a few loving pets, and each one of them shares a special place in our heart. However, there's always that one single pet that stands out over the rest... the one that is truly special to the point that we know we'll go through the rest of our lives and never have another pet like them.
Cleo was that special animal for me. I lost her today as I decided to put her to sleep at the age of 19.
I still remember the day when Cleo unexpectedly arrived in my life. I was watching the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers playing football on TV when I heard my mother's car pull up in the garage. Oddly enough, she didn't come in the house right away, staying out in the garage for at least 20 minutes. I assumed she was talking to a neighbor or something, so I didn't go out to check what she was up to.
My mother opened up the door and much to my surprise, a scared cat leapt from her arms, sprinted across the floor, ran underneath the reclining chair and climbed up inside the back cushion. My mom explained that she had been over a friend's house, and she felt compelled to rescue one of the several cats that were living in a bad situation at one of her friend's neighbors. We had always been a dog family; I never liked cats, and my mother was allergic to them, but she was so good-hearted that she brought it home anyway. The assumption was that this cat would only stay until we found it a good home.
It turned out that the cat wound up staying a lot longer than expected. It didn't take long for everyone to fall in love with her, and soon she was given a name -- my mother dubbed the cat "Cleopatra" because she felt the cat looked very regal.
Cleo had been made into a scaredy cat by whatever strife she had to go through at her first home, so it always took her a while to warm up to people. But when she finally accepted someone, she would show that person what she was made of -- love.
Everything about Cleo was all love. She never did anything bad and never got angry or aggressive with anyone. She just had more love to give than I ever thought was possible. Cleo wouldn't beg for food; she'd beg for you to give her a spot that she could use to cuddle up next to you. The first thing she wanted to do when someone she loved walked into the door was jump on that person's lap and cuddle. And oh how she loved it when someone let her curl up on their bed while they were sleeping.
Cleo was the absolute perfect cat to cuddle with too because she was unusually small and incredibly soft. She never weighed more than seven pounds, which made it so she could sit on someone's lap or curl up next to them without them feeling any weight. And her fur was unnaturally soft and silky, making it a wonderful experience to pet her. Every vet or doctor she came across always seemed amazed at how soft she was, which is how I knew that this was a unique animal in terms of how it felt to touch her.
Eventually my mother's allergies and little Cleo could no longer mix, so I decided to take her and her adopted sister cat Pepper back to my new apartment when I moved out. I thought it would just be for a few years as both cats seemed old at the time, but they stuck with me for a lot longer than expected, and my life is richer because of it.
Pepper, who passed away last year, was every bit as part of the family as Cleo, but there was always a particularly special bond between Cleo and me. Some say that animals can't love, but I know that's wrong because I know Cleo loved me. I could feel it in something as little as one of her big-eyed glances at me, I could feel it as she sat in the window waiting for me to walk up the sidewalk as I got home from work and then jumped down to meet me at the door, and I could feel it when she cuddled up next to me and wrapped her front legs around my arm and squeezed.
Cleo died today, and a big part of me died with her and will not return. She was such a loving creature full of beauty and warmth, and not surprisingly, the world feels a lot colder and emptier without her. I still don't know exactly what happened; she seemed fine not too long ago and I was beginning to think there was no end in sight to her being with me. But one day I woke up to find her sprawled out on the floor, noticeably sick. She was a tough little sweetheart who made it through lots of things in the past, and in the couple of weeks to come she would bounce back a couple of times, and the spark and love would return just for a short time. But it turns out those were just last glimpses of her true self as kidney disease had taken hold and would not give up. Things got worse and worse, and I decided to do the toughest thing I've ever done in my life, which was to put her pain to an end. My heart is shattered into a million little pieces this morning, but at least my Cleo is no longer suffering. I'll miss her so much; it will be a long while before I get used to her big warm eyes not looking up at me, her not being there when I come home, and her not wanting belly rubs at 1 in the morning.
I used to not like cats. Now I love them, and it's all because of Cleo. If every cat was like her, nobody would ever want a dog. I never imagined that an animal could be my best friend and put a choke hold on my heart like sweet little Cleo did. Sleep well and rest in peace my friend, my companion, my kindred spirit. I love you so much, and I'm already counting down the days to when I can see you again. There will never be another like you. Thank you for everything.
