In 1993, I was visiting a friend in Drogheda. Her cat had given birth to a small litter. The cheekiest one of the lot was Maggie who was a bundle of black fur who fit in my shirt pocket. I witnessed Maggie's brief escape into the wide world through a window, her small body huddled among her siblings under the warm wood burning stove at night, and her general noblesse oblige attitude and I became enamoured.
My friend surprised me one day when she informed me Maggie was returned by her brother as his Alsatian almost ate her and would I like to have Maggie. On the drive back home to Cork, Maggie was in the back in her carrier totally unperturbed. Once home, Maggie gave my home a cursory going over and seemed to approve her new digs as appropriate to a creature of her high rank and station.
There were already 2 other adult cats living with me. Maggie would watch intently when they would bring home their kill with a loud slap from the teak framed cat flap. One night, little Mags shot through the flap with a clatter getting everyone's attention - she had a very large earth worm dangling from the corners of her mouth. After that demonstration, Maggie never felt the need to show off till the others had died from road mishaps and she felt she needed to fill a gap in my life.
Those early days I would play with her on the bed using the reflection from my watch on the wall as she would pat at the elusive light. She mellowed quickly and put away silly games - wouldn't play with any of her toys. I guess it was because she loved my large garden instead. The garden was expansive enough to satisfy her for 14 years precluding the dangerous road deaths which had afflicted my other little friends.
Each morning there would be a greeting when we'd meet in the kitchen. When I was taking a bath she would stand holding herself steady with her paws on the edge so she could lick the bath water off my hands. The rest of the day was spent sleeping cuddled up with me when I watched television or worked at my desktop; or outside looking for birds, rabbits, and Pigmy Shrews; or digging her claws into her favourite log; or challenging me to refill her bowl even when she hadn't finished every last morsel. At bedtime, I always gave her a long back rub and a kiss.
It took about eight years before Maggie and I really bonded and she became more or less like a housewife. Around that time, I noticed Maggie outside urinating a very pink colour. Alarmed, I rushed her to the vet who confirmed crystal formation which henceforth required a special formula diet and routine urine tests. This spring, I noticed her awkward gait - her hips seemed unhinged. The X-ray showed osteoarthritis in the hips and neck. I took her to a homeopath vet who prescribed glucosamine and Calc-Carb which resulted in a definitely improved gait. This July, her condition deteriorated so fast. She lost weight, was listless, and couldn't walk far without collapsing. She went on a drip at the vets and expired over night from renal failure which had started 6 years ago.
I took her home and gently laid her in her grave. Her eyes were closed and she looked asleep. I pressed the palm of my hand on her limp body and carefully filled around her with earth just leaving her beautiful face for a final stroke of her soft cheek.
Maggie's site