things rainy taught me, circa 2012

Originally published Feb 25, 2012

A few days ago our cat died.  Her name was Rainy.  Now, I don't usually get overly sentimental at the loss of animals.  But Rainy was older than most of my children.  She was over 16, we got her when Polly was nothing but a toddler.

We've had lots of cats, barn cats, outdoor cats and most of them I don't remember their names.  But I will always remember Rainy.   When we had each of our children, she would approach me, sniff them, give her silent assent.  She let them carry her about, be part of their games, curl up on the end of their beds.

She taught me a lot.

1.  Rainy taught me that when your babies cry, just curl up with them and nurse them. 

2.  Do what ever it takes to be helpful.  Once Rainy and another cat we had (Snowy, as it were) had kittens a couple of weeks apart.  Snowy needed a little more "me" than Rainy, and would often leave her kittens for hours at a time.  Rainy would move all the kittens into one box, her five and Snowy's four, and nurse them all. 

That's friendship for you. 

3.  Be attentive to your children.  Once, when the professor was just a couple of months old, I put a blanket on the living room floor and was letting him just lay and kick.  Rainy padded over to him, and started licking the cradle cap from his little head efficiently.  Her attitude was one of, "you humans, I can't believe how you neglect basic hygiene."

4.  When all of your duties have been attended to as well as you are able, it's okay to curl up on the couch.

5.  Expect to be treated well.  If you expect to be treated with dignity, people will treat you with dignity.  Hold your head up high and sleep wherever you like.

6.  Do not let people ignore you when you are old and infirm.  When I can't see or smell or hear very well any more, I too, am going to demand to have a bowl of water on the floor in the middle of the kitchen where everyone trips on it just so they don't forget how important I am.

7.  Make the best of a bad situation.  Once, when we were away for a couple of days, poor Rainy got left in the house by mistake.  When we unlocked the door when we arrived home, she bolted out and we realized what we had done. As she was both an indoor and outdoor cat,  there is no litter box in our house.  OOPS.  But Rainy had done her thing in the toilet.  That is a good house cat.

8.  And, perhaps most significantly, when all the children grow up and have found good homes, find a sunny spot in the garden.