When I moved out of my parents house, my cat Cleo, on request of…the rest of the household, remained at home. While I wasn’t too happy with that idea at the time, I did realize that she was used to the property and had a large yard to explore, so I begrudgingly agreed and Cleo stayed behind. I had adopted Cleo from a coworker in 2005 as a stray kitten. While not being the most personable cat sometimes, Cleo spent many a night with me curled up between the keyboard and my monitor, or parked in my lap while I messed with computers into the late evenings. She enjoyed playing fetch with pistachios of all things, and wrestling with me.
She got her name from Cleo (aka Cleopatra), the cat in the Heathcliff cartoon series. Since this was the first female cat we’ve ever had, and for some reason, despite not having seen that series for a decade or more, that was the first thing that came to mind for “female cat”.
In more recent times, Cleo has not been doing well. In addition to seizures, the vet mentioned she likely was dealing with kidney failure. Despite all these issues, she seemed to still be comfortable and happy, and hanging around the house, but last weekend when I visited, it was obvious just looking at her that her coat was not the clean smooth coat you expect on a cat, mainly due to changes in their saliva as they get older, and she had certainly slowed down over the last few weeks. Cleo was around 15 years old.
Yesterday, on 3/30/2021, the weather was nice and warm, so she was let outside for a bit, however she has not returned. It’s likely that she may have gone somewhere to pass, as I learned that cats tend to do that sometimes when they know their time is up. I do hope that she returns to let me and my family get to see her again, but reality is sinking in, and…its not easy. I’m struggling to type this. I spent some time yesterday looking around the yard and checking around alleyways to see if I could find her, but she was nowhere to be found.
Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time she’s been missing. She actually went missing a few years ago, and we assumed the worst, after literally 30+ days. At day 66 (yes, 2 full months later), she randomly walked in as my dad opened the door to leave for work. My mom called me at 7am to let me know and I immediately ran down to their house to see for my own eyes. Cleo was back, and literally half the size she was when she left. We never knew where she was.
Anyways, Cleo, if you're reading this (or watching me type this), I hope you found comfort wherever you went. Thank you for all the comfort you gave me while I worked on projects late into the night, and for all the laughs and fun we had. Thank you for continuing to keep mom, dad, and my brother company, and give the nephews a chance to pet you (those few rare times it happened).
Enjoy a few pics of Cleo, who gave me a lot of good times, and continued to bring my family joy even when I moved away. I hope that she passed peacefully somewhere and is enjoying a pain and problem free afterlife.
I hope that Cleo had found peace and comfort where ever she may be. Also, I forgive you for nearly removing my finger all those years ago.
Cleopatra aka Cleo, you enjoyed attempting to murder me on a regular basis and I will always look upon those times fondly. Even if you have left this plane (though I hope you haven’t and return home soon) I know you will never really leave the ones you loved as a part of you is always with us.