The Super Pets of Momversation

A paean to childhood, motherhood and the family cat: Dead, and Almost Buried:

The black cat dies is my refrain, and with her flies childhood. Theirs – my children’s – not mine.

I dug two graves this morning. The dry, funnel-shaped one left me unsettled. It meant I’d have to arrange the body, curl her like an ouroboros, nose tucked into tail. I struck the ground harder with my shovel trying to widen the hole, repeating the poem my son wrote when he was eight:

Akasha the cat is bad
She’s black and rad
And altogether glad
To be a cat

He sang it to her, and when he left for college, his brother took over the recitation. He’s all grown up now, too, but Kasha still seemed to recognize the cadence of the words, even up to her end.

For me, the poem was an incantation. Like a witch reciting verbal charms over her cauldron, the black cat sat on my lap and those words invoked images of afternoons filled with outings with my boys, like the one to animal rescue where she spotted us. My young sons answered her silent siren call when she extended a paw through the bars of her cage. I was not impressed and pointed out sleek and shiny cats, ones requiring little grooming. This fluffy-tailed feline no doubt would get knots in its fur, kitty litter stuck to its backside, and plum-sized hairballs. She licked their fingers. Then, cat and boys looked up at me.

http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/dead-and-almost-buried

Tue, 2009-11-17 16:33

This was one of my favorite conversations yet! It was great hearing a little bit about your pets. For us pets are really a part of the family. We have one dog Mason, who is a 3 year old Pug. We got him during a time we didn't think that we were going to be able to have kids and so he became our child replacement. As such, he is spoiled to the core. He sleeps with us on our bed, has his own seat on the couch and in the car. He is wonderful with our son (Ian, 15 months.) They are best friends and we often witness some really sweet little snuggle moments between them. Mason handles sharing attention pretty well but I can't imagine getting another dog right now because I think that sharing more attention just might break Mason's little heart.

Fri, 2009-11-13 13:54

We have an 18-year-old shelter cat who is now senile and howls at night and early, early in the pre-morning. I have no interest in getting another pet after she passes on. If I were presented with sweet Izzie, though, I may change my mind. Too, too cute!!!!

Fri, 2009-11-13 10:08

YES! I love animals, so this episode was a lot of fun!

I remember when Dooce first got Coco, it was right around when my boyfriend and I got our dog Riley, and I totally thought they should be bf/gf. They're both beautiful and crazy and appropriately sized. Riley doesn't eat his own poop, though. Only the poop of other animals. ... :(

And leaves!

Anyway, the relationship didn't work out, since Ohio/Utah is pretty long-distance -- oh, and because I don't actually KNOW Heather? -- but I still love seeing how Coco and Chuck are doing.

Also, for anyone in Cincinnati / SW Ohio / Northern KY, I highly recommend the shelter where we got Riley: League For Animal Welfare in Batavia, OH. They are wonderful, clean, friendly and no-kill.

Fri, 2009-11-13 08:18

I loved seeing all of your pets! We have 2 rescue dogs, 2 ginuea pigs and 2 fish tanks that hold about 15 fish each. My husband wants to get a rabbit and a snake...for the kids of course. I think he's trying to make his own zoo. It's amazing what these animals have added to my kids' lives. When our American Staffordshire Terrier jumped the fence and ran out a few weeks ago, all my 3 year old could say while we were driving around looking for her was "You have to find her mom. Shiloh's my best friend." Luckily we found her. There's nothing like having a dog cuddled up on your lap while you're watching TV!

Fri, 2009-11-13 05:59