Elsie Rose died yesterday, Sept. 1st, peacefully with her family beside her. She is buried at Sandy Ridge Pet Cemetery in Eden. She is mourned. This was written last Sunday.
I’m writing this when I’ve realized Elsie is in pain. It’s time to phone the vet, time for her to go peacefully. She wants to, I think, but I don’t want her to.
Stray kitten
She arrived around my house in May fourteen years ago, a month after my old cat had died. I wasn’t looking for another one. But there she was, still kittenish, but past the fluffball stage. About 5 months old, the age of coming into first heat. And she did, in my back yard. Every tom in the area camped out there too.
She wouldn’t come near me, but one night she was in the narrow lane between houses and I caught her. She had a flea collar on, so she belonged somewhere. But no response to posters I put up. I’d been planning to leave Newfoundland. One new cat was more than enough. Kittens? No. So a quick trip to the vet.
Another cat, Spam, spent a lot of time at my house and hated her. Twice her size, he attacked and beat her unmercifully. My vet said let them sort it out. Interfering will just make it worse. So I tried. It didn’t get any better. Even my next-door neighbour who did not like cats came over one day to try to save poor Elsie.
I knew why Spam hated other cats: my previous cat Cedric had made his life a living hell when he was a kitten. So he learned from her to hate other cats. Cedric, in her turn, had been found wandering and, in her new home, the resident cat bullied and terrorized her. The cycle of violence perpetuates itself, and I thought for sure it would with Elsie after what she endured from Spam.
Accepting, adaptable Elsie
But in Elsie, nature overcame nurture. She is willing to accept any person or animal – even cats. Never did she let bad experiences with an individual affect her treatment of others. She likes and dislikes based on the individual alone, not her preconceptions of them. That, in my experience, is almost as rare in a cat as it is in a person.
I stayed another year in St. John’s after getting Elsie and acquired a pup in need of a home. She was fine with Jack. She told him at the outset to mind his manners, and he did.
Then we moved to Ontario. She traveled easily, just zoned out in a Zen state in her carrier. She adjusted to new surroundings and to becoming an indoor only cat. My dad, not a cat person, loved her. He played yoyo with her for hours – dangling the string for her to bat and chase. When she’d escape outside, he could get her in with the yoyo string. She fell for it every time.
She is my last living connection with St. John’s. Jack has been gone three and a half years and now it’s her turn. My lady cat, Elsie Rose.
Domonique Liffick
27 Sep 2011“Come live in my heart, and pay no rent.” ~ Samuel Lover
Dorothy
29 Sep 2011This was in the spam filter, but even if it is spam, it’s a lovely sentiment and especially appropriate for my Elsie. She did indeed live in my heart and she paid no rent other than her love. It’s 4 weeks today she died.
Carrie Anne
21 Sep 2011You’ve had the best with Jack and Elsie. And so did they. I’m very sorry you had to say goodbye. It’s a beautiful pet cemetery… one I’d like for mine when the dreaded day arrives. Why do we have to love them so much, eh. *sigh* Hope you’re baring up. xx
Dorothy
21 Sep 2011Thanks so much, Carrie. They both were very special. I miss Elsie every day. Yes, Sandy Ridge is a beautiful place. I like going there just to walk around and spend some time. I don’t like seeing our family plot filling up though. Hope your animals are doing well.