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Remembering Cookie

tortie cat with parsley
Cookie has parsley eyes.

Shortly after I lost Cookie on February 3, 2012, to honor her I followed through with my idea of recording some of my poems along with slideshows of photos and art. This is adapted from the text I had included with the first recorded poem as one of many memorials, trying to put into words what she meant in my life. I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately.

Note: This was intended to publish on February 3 as a remembrance of her death, but I had trouble posting on all my blogs and couldn’t post until early the next morning.

 Cookie, my art assistant at age 19.
Cookie, my art assistant at age 19.

The last weeks have been working through a series of “never agains” as I remember and let go of the unique things Cookie did—stepping into a warmed pasta bowl while my back was turned; quietly climbing her way into any spot in the house despite her disabilities; loving every cat who was in the house when she came here and all the ones who came after; greeting everyone at the door with sincerity and making them feel welcome.

Cookie my art assistant, at age one!
Cookie my art assistant, at age one!

I have also been resuming everyday activities I had been intentionally avoiding somewhat or completely, those that Cookie and I enjoyed together and I now do alone or without her—sitting in the kitchen after dinner to crochet or read with all the cats around, where you see so many photos of her interacting with my crochet materials; visiting the deck and back yard each morning regardless of weather to feed the birds, drink coffee and take photos; and gardening, from starting the seeds in the basement to getting dirty out in the soil.

Much to the joy of the household, I’ve begun to take a break after dinner again so everyone can walk on me and test my crochet projects. Until yesterday I totally avoided my deck except for the first few days in February when Mimi joined me, only filling the feeder outside my office window, and yesterday I spent my first full afternoon in the yard without a cat in many years.

A relaxed hour on the deck.
A relaxed hour on the deck.

And this morning I sat outside on my swing with coffee and crochet, a Sunday morning ritual whenever the weather was nice enough (nice to me and Cookie was anything above 40 degrees and no heavy precipitation) as I remembered all the years she had gone off to explore the yard then come back to climb up on my lap and have a nap, just Cookie and me doing things we enjoyed and each other, best friends.

We knew

I’ve been sharing daily photos and stories from previous years because so many more readers have found The Creative Cat in the past few months. We see a lot of Cookie from last year, including a number of photo essays of her adventures outdoors. I photographed her excessively all through the years, but the extra postings were intentional. I knew what was coming. I knew because Cookie knew, and let me know.

You're not going anywhere.
You’re not going anywhere.

From January 2011, around the time my mother died when Cookie grew weak and lethargic for no apparent reason, we presumed it was because she, as usual, was carrying part of my stress. She recovered, but I saw in her expression a realization. She kept slipping back every month or so, losing a little ground in between and even having a few close calls with her kidneys, and we decided we’d treat every symptom we could and enjoy the rest of our time together.

She stole her last month, January 2012, right out of the jaws of death as after Christmas 2011 she was again lethargic and anorexic, and worst of all suddenly lost use of her hind legs, her body temperature kept dropping and her heart rate increased; her blood tests were frightening. That truly was to be the time but she fought it off, a little adjustment in medications helped but mostly it was her working very hard for just a little more time. We saw her in January looking and acting like Cookie, but I saw she had little control of her hind legs, her body temperature remained depressed, she had increasing difficulty breathing as her heart grew more enlarged and her heart rate slowly increased.

Cookie checks the "cookie jar", an old canister I used for outdoor plants this year.
Cookie checks the “cookie jar”, an old canister I used for outdoor plants this year.

Cookie needed a little help getting started each day, but once she was going she was Cookie again, until that last day. The previous afternoon, warm for February 1, we went outside, a treat since that was usually reserved for mornings only during the week, perhaps we knew. She had no interest in exploring but got herself onto my lap as soon as I sat down, curled up and purred. We went in with the memory of that warm sunny afternoon. The next morning I had to carry her outside for the first time in her life, and as I sat with her on my lap she did not revive as usual, ready to explore even just a little, just remained curled on my lap purring.

The song sparrow in the forsythia (it really did sing as Cookie and I sat there).
The song sparrow in the forsythia (it really did sing as Cookie and I sat there).

Though it was still winter the birds were singing their spring songs, our friends the chickadees and cardinals and wrens who we’d fed and watched all winter. During a brief silence a song sparrow landed in the forsythia just a few feet away from us and sang its familiar three-note-then-warble melody several times, and I knew it was singing to us, and I knew what it meant. It was February 2, that magical cross-quarter day when winter finally begins to turn into spring, a time of transition where death falls away and new life begins. They were singing her home.

Holding Cookie that last morning.
Holding Cookie that last morning.

I am so grateful that I could just drop everything that day and spend her last hours with her, monitoring her condition and managing her discomfort with the advice and materials given to me by my veterinarian, sitting with her on my lap in the studio, our favorite room, ready to call my veterinarian or run her to the emergency clinic at a moment’s notice if the need arose. In the course of that last month there were many things I wanted to do for her but simply could not afford and tried not to be regretful in those last hours, thinking they would have made any difference or bought any more time; they were superfluous in her condition, and likely would only have made me feel better, not Cookie. What she wanted was me, and that I could give to her.

At 3:00 the next morning, February 3, lying next to me on the floor with all the other cats around, she opened her eyes and found my face, put her paw on my hand and held my gaze for several seconds, comforting me, thanking me and saying goodbye; she stopped breathing about an hour later.

Always with us

Cookie and I have lunch al fresco.
Cookie and I have lunch al fresco.

Loss is never made easier or less painful by any amount of experience or knowledge, but the long, slow goodbye of that last year was sweeter than words can describe. Relationships like Cookie’s and mine are rare but we who have experienced them know they never end, not even with death. Cookie has visited me in spirit, but she is always with me as well, just as she was for 19 happy years.

Cookie guards the front of the shop from the chair behind the counter.
Cookie guards the front of the shop from the chair behind the counter.

For two years I maintained a shop room in Carnegie Antiques owned by my friend Judi Stadler, and Cookie was my shop cat there. The shop was difficult to manage with other things at the time, and I was holding on to my shop in the last few months because of my memories there with Cookie while she was too ill to go with me, and then after she had died. On the day, at the moment, when, I regretfully and emotionally decided to close my shop and take it all home, the back door of the room lightly blew open and I felt Cookie enter, could see her hobbled little gait as she walked a circle around my feet, one of her lifetime habits, and her tilted face looking up at me half orange and half black, her green eyes with gold flecks; she was with me as I walked all around the building remembering all the places I’d seen and photographed her in the times she’d been there with me. As always, she appeared at just the right moment with her comforting and practical manner. I should only hope to meet a human with half as much wisdom and willing compassion as that little tortie cat.

We haven’t seen the last of Cookie. She will still show up in new postings of prior daily photos, and I’ve had a few paintings of or including her that I’ve been planning for a while. (And it’s true, I still feature her photos both old and ones I’ve since found in my archives, and I’ve created new merchandise with her images.)

And the passing of an animal companion like Cookie has always meant for me the coming of a time of transition and personal growth. Cookie led me to the door and opened it, it’s up to me to walk through and do something when I get there.

A few photos with her feline caretakers in those last months.

Girl Talk

Mimi getting as much knowledge from Cookie as she could, or perhaps she’s asking if Cookie needs anything.

"Girl Talk"
“Girl Talk”

Big and Little Sisters

At times Mewsette had to sneak up on Cookie when she was sleeping and protectively curl around her as Cookie was accustomed to being the caretaker, but sometimes Cookie willingly accepted Mewsette’s warm vigilance and an afternoon cuddle on the bed was hard to resist.

Big and little sisters.
Big and little sisters.

A Loyal Sister

Mewsette let herself into the bathroom this afternoon and cuddled with Cookie, who can use some big little sister warmth and energy!

She is my sister.

Friends at the End

In Cookie’s last weeks Mimi had given over to the Four as they each took a side of the cabinet when a weakened Cookie decided to get up there for a drink of water.

 

An eye on Cookie.
An eye on Cookie.

Here is a little reading and image list about Cookie.

Cookie and Me, Our 18th Anniversary Cookie’s rescue and her life with me, in her own words.

Cookie Goes to Work, three articles about Cookie’s job as my shop cat.

The Goddess Truly Inspires, a collection of stories inspired by people who have seen or purchased a print of “The Goddess”, Cookie’s true portrait.

Cookie Love, her progression into renal failure, with some of the nicest photos I’ve ever gotten of her outside.

In the Kitchen with Cookie, a link to all the photos of her interacting with pots and pans and mixing bowls in the kitchen.

Attachments 1, my first essay on the subject when I broke the old water bowl that I, of course, associated with Cookie

Attachments 3, a story about a nut grinder, the loss of which was deeply embedded in the months when Cookie grew ill

And Daily photos featuring Cookie and Kelly.


October 2010

photo of bernadette and cookie
Cookie and me, October 2010, photo compliments Green Tree Times

August 2011

Me and Cookie! Copyright © Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2012, all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Me and Cookie! Copyright © Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2012, all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

6 thoughts on “Remembering Cookie

  • Andrea

    I remember Cookie, not directly but from your posts. You help to keep her memory alive. I too have lost a special cat and will always remember.

    Reply
    • Andrea, it’s funny when I see the photos of her kitchen antics, and then I remember waking up with her stretched out on my back and her head on my cheek. I’m so glad she saw me through those years.

      Reply
  • Tried to leave a comment via Reader but nothing happened 🙁 What a gorgeous girl she was. You’re lucky when you find ‘the one’.

    Reply
    • I’m so glad she chose Mimi to take care of me when she was gone too. She left me in very capable paws.

      I’m not sure what’s up with my commenting lately. I have to approve all comments too, even though that’s not the setting I have. Thanks for coming here to comment!

      Reply
  • hugs to you today B ; cookie is was and always will be a beautiful girl.♥♥♥♥♥ it was nice of the sparrow to visit; he knew ~ ♥♥

    Reply
    • Cookie was blessed for sure, Tabbies. It was one time when I didn’t feel alone on the day of a loss, everyone was there for Cookie.

      Reply

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