A Loss

[Galician]

Since I have seen others share the loss of a companion animal, I shall make note of the passing of mine for nearly twenty years. My cat, Cloud, died over the weekend. She had been in poor health since last fall, and I was taking her for weekly treatments since then.

She used to like to go nest in her little hidey holes, which were usually hard to reach. So when I didn't see her over the course of Friday, I began to worry. By Saturday night, I knew something was wrong and began looking for her. I finally found her, curled up behind a bookcase, looking fast asleep. As soon as I touched her I knew that it wasn't the case. The heatwave apparently was too much for her in her weakened state.

She was born in my home, and got sick almost immediately, eventually losing her littermate and one eye. She was still a great hunter in her youth, though (I know, from having found not-quite-dead mice in my bed far too often ). Having celebrated her nineteenth birthday a few months ago, I knew her end was not far off. Still, after sharing such a significant portion of my life with her, I feel a big hole in my life.