Shenandoah
Back in early 1999, a friend of mine was getting married. She had asked if I would be interested in taking care of a few pets of hers. I later found out it was because her soon to be husband more or less gave an ultimatum. It’s either the cats or me. She had said to me in so many words that if she couldn’t find them a home, she was going to have them put to sleep. I had met the cats previously and wondered if I could in fact take care of them. I work a lot, and with the radio show consuming any other free time I had, including going out occasionally, would make it a challenge I wasn’t sure I was up to as of yet. So I decided since I was very alone living single, maybe it would be a good thing that I had some company….maybe it sounds selfish but, I needed personal communication within the confines of my then ‘new’ foundation of independence. That weekend, Chad Hutchinson stayed over my apartment to co-host our first of many to come Nearfest radio specials that Saturday night. While he hung out and watched the Flyers game, my friend arrived with the cats. I was a bit nervous not knowing if they would accept this change. I mean lets be truthful, they may be animals, but they are just like us. They get nervous in a new, foreign environment. And anyway, who is this new guy with door beads?
In The Meantime…In Between Time….
The two cats were quite a contrast. Silly Lyn, the female, was orange and white. She had stubby little legs and beautiful green eyes. She was a bit overweight, but extremely expressive and communicative. Opus, the male, was huge but not fat. He was very tall and muscular. He seemed anxious and confused after their former owner left them with me. He wouldn’t leave the foot of the stairs and certainly wouldn’t accept any attention or affection from me. Silly? She was giving kisses the first 3 minutes she was here. She made herself comfortable on the couch and instantly accepted her new home. As Chad stated to me, “She was a super sweet cat. She and I liked each other instantly.”
Within the first few weeks…I could tell two things. Silly was brilliant and personable. On the other hand, Opus was still hurt about being abandoned by his former owner. When I took her to the Vet, the one thing they kept saying was how alert she was to communication. When spoken too, she would talk back, yet look in your eyes while she did so. She would even follow your eyes. “She’s very intelligent..” the vet said. At first I was like, well, how does one know the intelligence of a cat? I realized in time the gem that I had in this cat. Time flew by. I learned what their likes and dislikes were. This is something only attentive pet owners will know. It’s a learning process. They truly are like people. For starters, as cool and social as Silly was, she was very finicky. Silly didn’t like anything that came in a can. She would just give you a look like, “What the hell is this? Give this to the idiot, I don’t eat this garbage.” But Silly rarely complained and usually stuck to her dry food. She was very playful, but I noticed a lot of the time in the first year and a half, she was lying around. Well, most cats do that, but she did it a lot. She still played and did cat things, but I could tell she would need to rest after a while. She was 13 when I got her, and age can play a role in being lethargic…but I never batted an eye about it. Silly loved to play with her leather mice, Opus preferred a fishing line with a piece of burlap at the end. And by late 1999, Opus had finally accepted me as his new ‘daddy’. But it was a strange occurrence that began our friendship. We had a nasty storm that whipped through the area, Hurricane Floyd to be exact. I learned quickly that Opus didn’t like thunder. He was scared and startled me with hiding behind my legs and looking up at me. I couldn’t help but smile. “Awwww…you like me now, huh….” From that moment on, Opus and I struck up a bond that only got stronger. Our new friendship was different than that of Silly’s. Silly loved me unconditionally already while Opus still needed at times to be reassured I wouldn’t desert him. That was when I opened the floodgates with the introduction of the outside front step. Opus was in heaven. Grass, bugs, Rabbits, Squirrels, and Birds. Everything a cat is built to pursue. Silly on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to just lay on the cement and let the sun’s rays envelope her. Her little green eyes would shine and her pupils would become pin slits and she would purr incessantly. I would turn to look at her and she would bark a flirtatious meow as if to say, “Thank you, I’m so happy.” I was convinced at the time that Silly knew just what looks to give get attention. She knew she was a cutie. I will never waiver my thoughts on that. She wasn’t that unaware…she knew how to use it to her advantage….yet never in excess without showing gratitude.
We Rise To Fall
Silly became a sleeping partner that only wanted me for her. And no matter what the weather may have been, she slept as close to my face as felinely possible. She would startle me some mornings with kisses that were rougher than the coarsest of sandpaper. At night, she would yelp at me when it was time to go to bed. Although demanding at times, how could you deny a face so beautifully expressive? Not to mention her repeating in perfect pitch of you saying ‘Hel-lo’. In early 2001, Silly started to slip a little. Not bad or anything, but I knew that her age was starting to show. Silly started missing the litter box. This usually means they are trying to tell you something isn’t right. Early on I thought that she was doing it on spite. She never liked anything I gave her treat wise so why would she take it out on me? When I took her to the Vet, he explained she had colitis. The smell was quite obvious it was bigger than just an upset stomach. In time, it cleared up, but it would soon become a chronic problem. Then a few months after she had gotten better, disaster struck yet again. Opus wanted to play. And granted, there were times Silly would be totally up for it. On one such occasion, Silly didn’t want to play. She wanted to sleep. I was doing spring cleaning and shampooing my carpets. Opus was relentless. He was determined to get her off the couch and play chase. He crept up behind her and bit her on the base of her tail. Silly flipped out. For the first time since I took over their care did I see Silly go spastic on him. Opus didn’t know how to handle it. I think he even realized he’d made a mistake. They fought and ran frantically and as she ran towards the stairs, she misjudged herself and I could hear her tumble down the steps. It ended with her crashing into the screen door. I knew it had to be bad. As I ran down the steps, the tail on Opus had been raccoon like, and Silly was on her side. This couldn’t be good. She growled as I came near her. She was hurt. I rushed her to the animal hospital to find out she had in fact sprained her left leg. It was bad. Not broken, but swollen enough to look like it. I tried not to laugh as she had to wear a mini wrap cast around her leg. My poor little girl. She rebounded from that but you could tell she was bit gimpy for a while. Also, you could never touch that leg following that…even when it healed. She became a wild animal when you did in fact touch it. Hissing...spitting...you know the deal. Just as long as you didn't touch her leg, you were in good with her.
Prior to me bringing her in for a check up, I found the paper work on the both of them while cleaning out some drawers in the kitchen. I found that Silly in fact had many problems. For starters, she was Anemic. After some blood work later I found out she had some slight Liver problems, and a Heart murmur. They also found she may have some arthritis. I also learned that Silly was in fact born in 1987. My girl was old already. Opus however, as a baby, was found on the side of a highway in Silly's home state of Alabama in 1993. My pets now officially ran my house.
A New Love
Jack decided to upgrade his video equipment and gave me his older camera. Instant fun. I videotaped the cats constantly. Almost OCD like. As soon as I came home, it was TV time with Opus and Silly. I know...lame. I would be thankful later. In early 2002 I decided that I wanted to settle down. Although my babies provided great company and hours of fun, it was time for something more. After a brief relationship failed, I met someone that I eventually would commit to. I never expected it, but it hit me like a freight train...love. But when you get me, you have to take the cats as well. I wondered how it would be. Hey a lot of people are allergic so you wonder sometimes. Shit...pets can make or break a relationship. When Silly met her, it was love at first site.
Silly usually had a good vibe on people immediately. She showed affection to our new addition and accepted her as one of her own. But make no mistake; there certainly was a pecking order. Although she loved being around her and found a new sleeping partner on a regular basis (My ex slept all the time), once I got into bed, Silly showed her allegiance. My ex would get mad, even jealous at times because Silly would get between us on the pillows smacking her tail against Meg’s head. I thought it was great. More or less, Silly was saying, "Look, I like you and all, but he’s mine…sorry, I was here first. And anyway, look how cute I am.” I always thought it was funny how upset my ex would get over the cat. As time wore on, they bonded even closer. They became close friends and I could see that Silly truly loved her. Silly always thought it was bed time when she came home from work. Very funny stuff. They’d both be curled up sleeping. Silly helped me as well. There were times when I would go through this ‘producer’s block’. Producer’s block is when I have no clue what I am going to do on the radio program when I have 3 or 4 major pieces already part of the puzzle. It has to fit and I will scrap the whole thing if it doesn’t work. If I had become stuck on an idea, I would get say, 5 different albums, either CD or vinyl, lay them out on the floor, and ask Silly to pick out one, or lay on the record I should play. Silly usually made good choices. She also had her dislikes. She didn’t like Ozric Tentacles or any other kind of Space rock….I know…..sounds nuts, but it’s true. When it came on, she ran.
L'Inizio Dell'Estremità
In October of 2004, things started change. Silly began to hide. Usually when a cat isn’t feeling well this is what they do. They pick a spot and go. She started hiding under the bed and I refused to let her. Something was clearly wrong. She started losing weight. Quickly. Within 2 days, she lost 5 pounds. She was defecating everywhere. She couldn’t control herself. At this point, there is no need to yell at a 17 year old cat and let her get more stressed. Not to mention, Silly was smart, she knew when she did something wrong, even if it was hours until I came home. The head would sink down, and she would look up at me showing the whites of her eyes. I decided there was no need to get frustrated. Once again, she’s 17. I took her to the Vet in Mount Laurel and found out she was in better shape than we thought. She still had the Heart murmur, her sugars were slightly high, her arthritis was affecting her injury from 3 years earlier, the anemia made her lethargic, and she did in fact now have IBS. So…some intravenous fluids, steroids, and stomach relaxers…and we were on our way back home.
Autumn
Silly rallied back and gained weight. She wasn’t as hefty anymore, but she surely showed she could rebound at 18. We gave her as much love as we could and she seemed to get better. She’d made a mess here and there but nothing to get crazy about. I still had to wash her behind since her arthritis kept her from doing so. She dreaded it, too. Growling, yelling at me, it was something that seemed like a surprise to her everyday. But, her butt was clean everyday. I’d always make it up to her with some leftover milk or dairy products. I also made sure the air conditioner was always on high for her. She couldn’t take the heat at all. But still at 18, she had all of her marbles. Then August of 2005 came. My then fiancée apparently had another side I had never seen and left us. Completely out of the blue, shocking and stunning everyone in her way, including Opus and most of all, Silly. While I tried to work through this, Silly was stunned. Silly started waiting at the top of the steps in anticipation that maybe…just maybe….she would return. This was the first time I ever noticed Silly down. Not physically, but spiritually. People say animals don’t know or feel anything at the magnitude that a human does. Complete fabrication. I will always argue this. Silly became withdrawn and would return to the top of the steps every night waiting for her sleeping partner to return. On top of dealing with what just happened in my life, I had to be sensitive to what was happening to my cat. Silly lost 9 pounds from August to January. A lot for an 18 year old. But Silly wasn’t selfish. When I had my moments about the situation, here is this cat, skin and bones, walking over to me, tapping me, licking and hugging my face as if to say, “I know Dad, but we’ll be ok..” One night in November, the ex showed up to try and exonerate herself from what she did. She walked over to Silly and Silly, without missing a beat, gave her an ugly look, snubbed her, and got up from her warm spot and trotted away as if to say, “Go away, bitch…don’t you dare put your scent on me.” The funny thing was, even the ex caught it. I never had to say anything. But I acknowledged it silently and chuckled to myself. My little girl truly is brilliant. One thing that always gets me, even now as I write, was the fact that as tough as it was to be alone again, I still had the cats. Life was still there. I had some issues the first few months the fiancée had been gone. A major league problem was getting up in the morning. I couldn’t sleep, but couldn’t awake when I finally did. It was almost like Silly knew. When the alarm would go off, I’d hear this very light grunt, and the petting of my face from her paw. Almost as if she was saying, ‘Come on, get up, you can do it. Turn that annoying thing off…..come on…wake up darlin…’ Another funny moment was when a truck backed up on the street and she started tapping me when I was sleeping thinking it was the alarm.Those memories will live forever in my mind.
Winter
By February, senility crept in. Silly started doing the light shake at times….just like an old person. The meows became barks. She hadn’t lost it yet, I mean hey, she still played the “I get the last word!” game on a daily basis. Sometimes I could swear she knew it was getting me nuts….and she won it quite often. She still waited outside the bathroom door when I would get out of the shower. She knew that if I went in this room, it must mean I am on my way to leaving for somewhere. She’d wait loyally at the top of stairs upon my return. Talking and readjusting her eyes to the suddenly turned on house lights, while questioning what was in my bags. A treat for her maybe? Her regular cat food became passé and she insisted on human food. Potato chips, steak, chicken, pork, pretzels, cheese, milk, rice, or anything else that was mine. I realized how much she needed me when I went away to Boston in February. When I came home, she yelled and barked for about 3 hours. I had a feeling she was upset with me. Almost as if to say, “Where the hell did you go? I hardly ate. You aren’t going to leave me like all the others, are you? Don’t you know I need you around here??” I made a vow not to go on any long trips unless I took her with me.
By March, Silly couldn’t make the bed anymore. She’d jump, and miss. I had to pick her up and place her on it so she could watch me work on my radio show. And her appetite for ANY food was getting ferocious. I started preparing her things like London Broil, roasted chicken…anything that would make her little eyes stay bright and happy. She’d still follow me from room to room, and make stops to rest during certain stretches. At night it was a little more difficult for her because she liked to sleep on the bed, preferably the pillow, but even if I placed her there, she'd get up in the middle of the night to be near her food dishes. On Thursday, I'd gotten home from work and decided to make a sandwhich. Along with the sandwhich, I had Frito Corn Chips. She slowly walked in the room and looked the oldest I had ever seen her. She asked for some chips and I laid an old show script down on the floor and let her crunch away. She loved them. I would breathe a sigh of relief seeing that at least her appetite never changed. She got a bit pushy with stuff I didn't want her to have (usually milk etc) but since she was happy, I pretty much let her get away with murder. After she finished snacking, she looked up at me as if to say, "put me up there." I obliged. So she sat on the bed while I typed away at emails. After an hour, I looked back to see that she had a very faraway look to her. I walked over to the bed and laid next to her and slowy carressed her head as she started to drum up a silent purr. She was weak. I could see it. My emotions caught the better of me. But as always, Silly would amaze me. In mid-tears, she turned her head and upper body and looked right in my eyes. She looked at me as if to say, "Hey, what are you crying about? I'm going to be fine. No need for that..." She licked my tears and gave me a hard face hug. My Southern Bell nuzzled her face into my shoulder and went to sleep. I awoke about 6 A.M. to her getting up and getting off the bed. I fell back to sleep. I left for work in a rush later and petted her head as she lie under the end table at the end of the stairs.

Silly passed away only minutes before I got home that night.

Opus sat in silence near the end table. It was the most somber our home had ever been. Our most level headed tenant was gone.

Silly is in a far better place. I pray and hope that she is playing somewhere, eating and doing what she wants. I was so blessed to have a sweet creature like her. She brought so much happiness and laughter to so many people. And this was a cat. Not a person. Humans should take lessons from such loyalty. I joke that she is the sweetest and most loyal woman I ever had, and I believe that is true. No more bone aches, no more upset stomach, no dried skin, all the hair ties she could possibly want to play with. I hope they have those corn chips she liked...cause god knows......I can't throw out this bag.

Until we meet again my little Shenandoah.....I will miss you terribly.