The Word - Vol 74

A Cat Named Creamo

​In this old world, I do believe there are dog people and there are cat people. I’ve had 3 dogs in my lifetime and always considered myself a dog person until my daughter got a cat.  However, that cat was more like a dog than a cat and that’s perhaps how I got smitten by this kitten.

For us, the family love affair started when the neighbour’s cat had a litter, and we would find our young daughter hanging out at the neighbour’s house, right next to the box full of kittens. One kitten in particular attracted her attention. She was a quiet little thing, quite content to sit on our daughter’s lap while her brothers and sisters rolled around and generally bounced off the wall. It seems there was an instant kinship developing between our daughter and this little kitten. A kinship that would last a lifetime. 

As the family story goes, our neighbour called the house one day and said he had to give all the kittens away, but he was going to keep one kitten for a little girl that he knew. That little girl of course was our daughter. She named her Creamo, and that was 23 years ago today. 

As the two of them grew together, they grew almost as one. Our daughter could do anything to that cat, and it wouldn’t flinch. She would dress Creamo up in doll clothes and hats, or wrap her in blankets and snuggle her like a baby. She would put her in the stroller and Creamo would sit contentedly. She could even drape the kitten around her neck while she walked around the house. It was an amazing bond, and the two were inseparable.
​
I said Creamo was more like a dog than a typical cat because she would do very dog-like things. If the doorbell rang, she would stop whatever she was doing and walk toward the door to see who was there. And much like a lap dog, she thought nothing of climbing up onto your lap to watch TV. She possessed none of the stereotypical cat traits, like being skittish, or solitary, or aloof, or finicky or prone to climbing the drapes. She loved being part of the group, and of course, quickly became one of the family. 

We all agreed she should be an indoor cat. The last thing we wanted was for her to fall victim to any of the raccoons in the neighbourhood. I must say, Creamo had a pretty good life. But there came a time when, how shall I say, the well-fed Creamo, displayed some signs that her health wasn’t the best. To our surprise, the Vet discovered that our Creamo was diabetic! I didn’t know cats could be diabetic? I do now. 

So, that meant administering two shots of insulin a day, one in the morning, and one at night. That was something none of us in the family had any experience doing, but soon we became pretty good amateur doctors and nurses. During one visit to the Vet, he asked to see my arms. I showed him, and he said "Hmm, no scratches?" He then told me stories of some people who had diabetic cats who were torn to shreds trying to administer needles to their cats. Not Creamo. We would call her when it was time, and she’d lie on her side, take the shot, and then get her food as a reward. It didn’t seem to bother her at all. One thing we were warned about was diabetes would cut her lifespan short by a number of years, but nobody could say how many years. Time passed, and through some miracle, her blood test results indicated that she wasn’t diabetic anymore. We were told that cats are the only animals known to be able to cure themselves of diabetes! Sadly, the diabetes had already taken its toll on her lifespan, but at least she was spared the two shots a day. 

As was expected, Creamo’s life on planet Earth was shortened. She became quite sickly to the point that nothing could be done. She passed away at home, with our daughter holding Creamo’s little paw. I’d be lying if I said there weren’t a lot of tears flowing that day, and as it is when a family member passes, a period of mourning. 

It’s been seven years since we said goodbye to our little four-legged family member, but whenever I open a tin of tuna fish, I expect that little furry friend to come running into the kitchen for her treat. And I miss that.

Until next week...
Wayne
​

---

---