Just another cat?

A touching story about a girl and her cat

 

He was always special to me, the number one thing in my life, just like a mother has her child, I had him. It was March of 1990 that my parents acquired him. I wasn’t born yet, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was an inspiration to my whole family. His name? Hawk. His species? Cat. When I was brought home from the hospital on May 6^th 1991, I can remember my mom and dad had 4 cats at the time. There was Anrack, Dakota, Missy and Hawk. Missy would run and hide when I either crawled or walked. Anrack and Dakota would claw me, but before I could start crying, Hawk would walk over calmly and lick my wound. We shared a bond, not just like a cat and owner bond, we had a big brother, baby sister bond that was never, ever broken.

            Missy and Hawk had 4 kittens in December of 1991. I was seven months old at the time, so I don’t remember much, but I do know that when my mother was forced to give the kittens away, Hawk bit her, hissed at her and clawed her whenever my mother would bend down to pet him or put food down for him. This went on for at least a month. Like any baby, I didn’t know the proper way of petting or holding a cat, but Hawk didn’t mind. I could use him as a pillow, pet him a little too hard, or even pull his tail and he would just either lick my hand or talk to me even though I didn’t understand. I guess to Hawk I wasn’t just his owner, I was his friend, and maybe he even thought of me as a daughter. Weird I know, but- he was a unique cat.

            My father always had strange work hours when I was a child. When I was 1-2, he worked for Kenny Poole Trucking. Half the year he worked normal 9-5, but then the other half he worked night shifts. At the time, we lived in a small two bedroom apartment, and Dakota had died the year before, in January of 1992. When my father worked the graveyard shift, both my mother and I were scared. I was only 2, and my mother didn’t like being home alone at night, especially with a 2 year old. But, when she put me to bed, Hawk would cry until my mother put him in the crib with me. All night, until I woke up in the morning, Hawk would lie beside me and keep me safe.

            My mother and father were separated for about a year when I was 6, since my father bought Hawk at a pet store; he got to keep him, while my mother moved in with a friend. I hated being away from Hawk, but until my parents got back together, I wouldn’t get to see him accept for on the weekends. In my heart, I knew Hawk loved and missed me just as much as I missed him, and we were both hurting. When my mother and father got together again, my father moved into a home instead of the apartment. Now we only had 2 cats, Hawk and Anrack. Missy had run away just three years earlier. The house didn’t have much, didn’t have any heating, and the window in my room was cracked. The first year we lived there, the only way of warming up was by either standing by the dryer, which at the time was in the dining room, or standing by the stove. We didn’t get a propane heater until sometime in 1999.    

When I wasn’t sick, Hawk was a playful loving cat. I’d tie a bell to a string and he and I could just be there for hours just playing. Hawk loved to play, but he also knew what to do when we acquire a cat, which we did in 2000. We had Anrack put to sleep sometime in 1998. It was when my father was working graveyard shift again, but this time at Richard Taylor Trucking. It was 11pm I believe, Hawk was at my feet, and the phone rang. My father had found a cat and wanted my mother and I to bring it home.

I just waited in the car while my mother gathered up the cat food and the carrier. When we arrived to the shop, my father was sitting in a chair, feeding a long haired, chubby calico cat Oreos. The poor cat was so hungry she was eating anything and everything.

My mother picked the cat up and shook her head. The cat wasn’t just hungry, she was pregnant also. A homeless, pregnant cat, eating Oreos. I felt bad for her, but I couldn’t wait for the kittens to come. When we took her home, Hawk wasn’t sure how to react at first, but he grew to like her, and when it came time for the kittens to come, he was right there as she gave birth.

            We named the calico cat Taylor, since that’s where we got her. She gave birth to 6 kittens in June. Since I was only about nine at the time, I didn’t understand why a kitten looked gross and kind of transparent when they were born, but I eventually grew to love them, and they started to get more normal skin within the week. Once the kittens were ready to be separated from Taylor, we gave away five of them, keeping the one we named Smokey. That’s how life was for the next four years; just my mom, my dad, Hawk, Taylor, Smokey and I.

            My life went to a halt in the year 2003. My favorite singer and idol Johnny Cash died in September, and Hawk was diagnosed with Diabetes in November. I had noticed that he had lost a lot of weight, and wasn’t acting like himself, but I figured that would come with age. We took him in after we just couldn’t stand to see him suffer anymore, and it turned out he had diabetes. The doctor gave us insulin and some needles, but warned us that he could go into shock at any time. When the doctor told us what was wrong, my heart dropped as my cat looked up at me with those shiny eyes, filled with fear and confusion.

            Thankfully between 2003 and 2008, Hawk only had 3 seizures. Two at home and one in the vet on an overnight stay.  Even when we took him home and started giving him shots, he still didn’t act like himself, he was forever changed, but at least I still had my cat. In 2005 we acquired yet another cat, this one we named Gray. Hawk was on good terms with Gray, but they weren’t exactly buddies like Anrack and Hawk were. I noticed something funny going on in February of 2008. Gray was taking care of Hawk, where he used to just kind of sit there and watch. Grey gave Hawk baths, and one time even letting Hawk have his can food. Hawk was now 18 years old, so he was an old cat, and I knew he would have to die at some point, I just wasn’t ready for it to be so drastic and graphic. It was February 13, 2008. It was 3:30pm and I had just gotten out of school. When I pulled up to where my mother worked, she ran out the door and hopped into the car. Explaining on the way that dad called and Hawk was in diabetic coma. Tears were streaming down my face as I sped home. I held Hawk and sang to him as my mother raced to the vet after picking him up. My father called the vet ahead of time so thankfully he knew we were coming. As we ran into the vets office there stood waiting was Dr.Gino, he took Hawk from me and ran into a room.

            We were able to see Hawk two days later on the 15^th. He looked nice and healthy, and he was acting like he used to. I petted him and he talked to me, probably asking what happened, and when he was getting out. I smiled and saw happiness that I saw in his eyes years before, way before he was a diabetic. I talked to him, and told him what had happened in the previous days, and he just sat there, and I in my heart I knew he was listening. I didn’t want to leave, and if I could, I would had stayed with him all night, but I knew I had to leave, so after giving him a kiss and promising to come back for him, my mother and I left. The next morning, I awoke cheerful and ready to go get my cat. I walked into the dining room, where as my mother paid bills told me Hawk died early that morning. I calmly walked to my room where I put on Johnny Cash, and screamed. I tore everything off my walls, even my beloved Johnny Cash poster and threw all my cd’s and books, even breaking a phone. I cried and cried all day while my mother ran errands. I shouted at him and God for taking Hawk away from me, then I begged for him back, then I just cried because I would miss him.

            I still miss Hawk, and I think about him everyday. Every paper I write, weather its for school or for fun, I sprinkle a little bit of Hawk in my characters, and even if he’s a cat, I know he’s going to be there waiting for me when I die. Even if he’s just a cat, Hawk taught me to be happy for what you have, even if it is a terrible suition and you don’t think that there any way it could get better, have faith, maybe it will get better. How one cat could teach me that is beyond me, but he was a pretty neat cat, and there will never be one like him again.

 

 

Reviews

[Dylan Cook]

Very nice. I love cats