[Magdalen] Cat prayers

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

My wife has mentioned that whenever we lost a cat, they came to her one
more time. I don't disbelieve, but I've not had any experiences to speak of
either.

However, my mother-in-law had a very unusual cat named Topaz. When she
passed away, we brought Topaz to live with us. He was a dear cat, although
I just didn't feel like I could connect with him.  On the other hand,
Christine would come in and pet him and she would lie on his bed and Topaz
would go to sleep in her lap, and they would be there for hours.

After Topaz had to be put to sleep, I heard these noises on the steps to my
office.  I tried to chalk it up to house settling and whatnot, but they
just kept happening. It was like a tiny cat coming down the steps.  I would
think I would be upset, but I wasn't (grace is a marvelous and widely
effective thing) and I got so I would chat a little bit with him, tell him
we love him and would not forget him, but his Helen and Vince are just a
little ways off on the other side. Eventually, the noises became less
frequent.  I felt very blessed and privileged. Maybe he wanted to let ME
know that he appreciated me too. He was very attached to Helen, my
mother-in-law, and to Christine, my spouse.

We have the cremains of all our beloved cats and hope to be buried with
them. Keeping them makes us feel we're still connected...



James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Sat, Dec 31, 2016 at 9:00 PM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:

> Prayers for my cat-boy. I still miss him and think about him often.
>
> On Sat, Dec 31, 2016 at 3:50 PM, Marion Thompson <
> marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > They do get used to it, and you avoid trips to the vet.  It's a jungle
> out
> > there!
> >
> > Marion, a pilgrim
> >
> >
> >
> > On 12/31/2016 2:10 PM, Susan Hagen wrote:
> >
> >> I haven't been letting the cats outside much because with the new cat,
> >> I can't leave the cat door open.  Last evening I got home early enough
> >> to let the boys out for a run.  Later Don Bosco came in with blood on
> >> the white fur at his throat.  I washed it up and checked it but
> >> couldn't see much damage.  I checked again this morning and was able
> >> to find a small wound so got him straight to the vet before they
> >> closed for the holiday.  It looks like he tangled with one of the
> >> tough cats who have been roaming the neighborhood and got bitten.
> >> He's already running a temp but Dr. Ann admitted him and got him
> >> started on antibiotics and fluids so we hope to head off an abscess.
> >> He'll stay over the weekend, poor boy.  I didn't hear any sounds of a
> >> fight though I usually hear the yelling at each other through the
> >> screen when one of the strangers is around.  I will just not be able
> >> to let them out in the evening.  They will resent that very much.
> >>
> >> Susan
> >>
> >>
> >
>