Two weeks ago I lost someone I considered my daughter and my best friend. She also walked on four legs, had a tail like a question mark and belonged to the feline family.
I got her nearly a decade ago as a birthday gift from my parents. I've always wanted a cat, so in 2005 I finally got my wish. She was only two months old and the fastest thing you ever saw. After first seeing her for the first time, letting her out of the laundry room and petting her it took roughly 2 hours just to catch her again.
Having recently moved from California to Colorado at the time I was having a…hard time adjusting to put it lightly(no, the name "Callie" came from her being a Calico, not as a slang for California). If there was anything that help ease the pain away from the crappiness of Colorado, it was having someone to rely on to keep me company and to make my life fun. Every day was fun with Callie, even the mundane things of everyday life like walking up the stairs became a game(whenever I walked up or down the stairs she would run ahead of me as it were a race).
Not to say she was the perfect girl all the time. She went to the bathroom outside the litter box a lot of the time. Apparently her mother had the same problem, which means her issues were largely genetic. My parents were desperate to give her away more than once, but I fought for her, knowing life would be more miserable without her, of course my parents obliged, which included replacement carpet and several cleanings that passed the $1000 mark(which I feel bad about, but I can't really say I would do something different in hindsight).
Callie liked people, whenever somebody came over, she immediately trotted over to greet them. Not to say she was a lap cat(she wasn't) nor did she really enjoy getting petted by people she didn't know, but she enjoyed watching people, whether they were cat people or not, and one got the sense she always enjoyed hearing reactions about her, as she always perked her head up and focused and always knew when you were talking about her.
Perhaps the one thing everyone agreed about Callie was how pretty she was. It was a running joke that came from her vet trips; Callie hated going to the vet, hissing at whatever checkup they did on her, inspiring one vet to comment, "Well, she's very pretty!" What can I say? My girl was beautiful. If there was a cat equivalent to Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn chances are my cat was it. She knew it(she was always cleaning herself) and I knew it. In fact, I even hoped to make a couple a short films and maybe even a series of YouTube videos trying to make her a big star. I never expected her to be Grumpy Cat big or anything, but I did hope to make her an internet star and to try and give more exposure to cats and to try to dampen the widespread belief that dogs are so much better(this was right before the explosion of cat videos all across the internet that have thankfully accomplished that job). Sadly, my plans to make Callie a star never came into fruition(largely myself to blame for my laziness), but I did shoot a lot of video of her to keep myself in remembrance of her(I even did a short school project starring her that was close enough to my goal).
Another thing you could say about her was that she lived life on the edge. Not only did she repeat naughty behavior, but when she went outside, she lived boldly. Everybody living in the cul-de-sac has a Callie story, whether it was standing up to three dogs, attacking another cat, meowing to enter somebody else's house she never been in before or whether she actually stood up to a fox(pretty remarkable how she survived that one), she loved having adventures. Her life may not seem long in comparison with some other cats you know, she thankfully lived most of her life to her fullest.
But the most important thing for me was she was always there for me. When I was struck with a fever during band camp that left me sick for 3 days, who else but Callie sat by my bedside during those entire three days to help ease the pain until I got better? After a long painful day at school, who else but Callie would come to relieve the stress by meowing for attention? While I've had arguments, troubles and bouts of depression I could always count on her cheer myself up during those rough years of my life by cuddling up and purring. She made my life complete.
Since moving out on my own I've been asked if I felt alone. I always responded as long as I have Callie I would never be alone. Well, as Sept. comes to a close, I can say that for maybe the first time in my life I feel alone.
Rest well my angel.
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