My cat died at the end of August, after sixteen great years with my family. We had four months to prepare for it, so we were as ready as you can be. I went back to school soon after her death, so I didn’t get a chance to experience the changed dynamic in my house. We are constantly reminded that we are a family of three. I was home alone the other day, because I was home for Thanksgiving while my parents were still at work. I felt alone in my house for the first time.
I’m thankful for the time we’ve spent at home this Thanksgiving, just my parents and I, feeling quite complete as a family of three. It still feels different in my house, especially because this is my first time coming home since Muff’s death, but that’s inevitable. People who haven’t had pets may not realize the ways that a pet affects a family. Those who have — and who have lost — pets know the difference they make in one’s life. We learned a lot from Muff, and we are so lucky that she lived a long, healthy life.
I came across a series of photos of a few months ago, that a man had taken throughout the life of his cat. I’m grateful that we have so many photos of our life with Muff, and photos of her last few years especially. Please excuse the quality of the earlier photos. They’re from a beautiful scrapbook that my aunt made me years ago, so I had to take photos of photos to get them here.
I had wanted a cat from the time I could talk. When I had to write journal entries in kindergarden, I always wrote about how I wanted a cat. She joined our family before I turned six. My parents let me name her. I named her Muff Juliette Heffernan. Muff was after my mother’s cat, Muffy. Juliette was after my great grandmother. I thought it was a lovely name for a cat, and my parents didn’t question my choice.
This is Muff and I in our first week together, 1998, as I was heading off to my first soccer game. She looks like a toy cat.
Muff (looking a bit possessed) and I, with my cousins in 2000. It was at about this time that I tried to put her on my head and walk around the house with her. Anyone who has ever had a cat knows that this is not advisable.
An often mentioned but rarely seen photo of Muff in a birthday hat. She was not impressed. Still my mom tried and succeeded in getting her to wear a Santa hat some years later.
Muff always loved playing in the snow. This is a photo from 2008, around the time we realized she would benefit from some diet food.
Our house backs onto a ravine, and Muff had many encounters with nature through the glass door. Because there are coyotes in our ravine, she was never an outdoor cat. We let her out on a leash when we were home. My favourite was when she would chirp back to the birds.
The wonders of Photo Booth. She couldn’t figure out the sound the computer made when I pressed the button, so she always looked up at the camera. For a while, this was the only picture I had ever posted on Facebook where I wasn’t wearing any makeup.
I always loved the way her eyes looked in the afternoon light. This was taken with my iPhone.
This is my favourite picture of Muff, Christmas 2012. It was taken with my Canon Rebel.
Easter 2013, cat selfies.
My mom sent this photo to me. Muff was unhappy with the selection of treats made available to her, and she made her unhappiness known. Note the uneaten treats.
Creepy lens experiments, from the week when Muff and I were home alone last summer. Any time my parents went away, she would stay by my side at night. We once had a particularly memorable O.C. marathon.
This was taken on Muff’s last day with us. I tried to capture a picture of her toes, both pink and black.
This is the last photo I got with her. She had stopped purring in her final weeks, but the vet told us that Muff wasn’t in any pain. I felt her spine as I put my hands on her back. I couldn’t believe how little she was. We had to put her down that night. We loved her too much to let her suffer, and she had become so weak. She had brought us so much joy, it was only fair that we didn’t selfishly prolong her life.
We learned so much from our time with Muff. I know Muff made me a better person, and I’m grateful for the times we’ve had. Anyone who has had a pet knows, they become a part of the family. I know I’ll have another cat, and my parents probably will too, but we don’t know when. For now, we’re doing very well with our family of three.
