Six Years Ago

Doug has always been a cat person; he re-homed his cat, Milo, when he moved to the UK with me. At the time I had no idea how great a sacrifice that was. I’d grown up with both cats and dogs, but always thought of myself as a dog person. (Wrong! Apparently I’m an animal person.) I have made a lot of poor decisions in my life, and regret things both done and undone. But wen we moved back to Canada, I suggested to Doug that we adopt a cat. Such a good decision!

Piper's first day in her new home

We went to our local humane society, where there were six super cute, energetic kittens, and a significantly older cat. I expected Doug to choose a kitten but he immediately pointed to the bigger, older cat. ‘Middle aged women need to be loved too,’ he said. In that moment I fell in love with him all over again. Later he admitted that he was worried Piper would be euthanised if she wasn’t adopted. When we signed the papers, one of the workers gave another a thumbs up and told us, ‘She’ll do so much better by herself.’ (True. She doesn’t not get along well with other cats, dogs, or spiders.)

We didn’t own a car, so brought her back in a taxi. After a half hour exploration of her new home, she nodded her head as if in approval, and curled up for a nap on our bed.

Doug's last night at home - Piper didn't leave his side

She kept us awake for most of that first night while she discovered places to play hide and seek (inside the box spring! behind a row of books on the top shelf!), and took great care to remind us that cats are crepuscular animals - waiting until we’d finally fallen asleep before waking us up by licking our faces and asking for breakfast.

It's not really a challenge to do a jigsaw unless you have a cat . . . 

She was absolutely Doug’s cat for the rest of his time at home. She followed him around like a puppy dog, and waited by the door for his return when he was out. I hope they kept each other company when I was at work; I know she still misses him.

She wakes me at dawn most mornings. I continue to buy her toys - even though boxes, paper bags, and hair elastics remain her firm favourites. She takes up an incredible amount of space in the bed, and often feels the need to sleep on top of me. 

And I wouldn’t change a thing. She knows when I’m sad and in need of comfort; she licks away my tears when I cry; she holds her paw in my hand. She grooms me daily.

We had hoped for children, biological or adopted, but the universe had other plans. I suspect, truly, Piper chose us and let us pretend we were choosing her. I am not for a second suggesting that a cat replaces a child, but she came into our lives when we most needed her, and we have loved her ever since. 

So much change in those six years, but through it all this unconditional love. 

#love for the win!