Saying Goodbye

We said goodbye, finally, by giving away our kitty litter and cat food today. Our sweet *Khao Meow, who was a New Year's Day gift to us a year ago (a gift from God, that is, in the form of a stray kitten wandering at a friend's pool), is officially gone. We had him for a really good 11 months, and one day back in November he wasn't here to greet us in the evening as was his faithful habit. We waited, prayed, asked neighbors and workers nearby, nobody had seen him. We made the sign (above) and posted copies in our neighborhood, still hoping that somehow he would come back to us. We have no idea what happened to him.

Tim says that he is growing into a saintly cat in our memories, and I think this is true. He was an amazing kitty, patient with little hands, not destructive, a great lap dweller, but in our collective memories he has become something of feline perfection embodied. We still miss him; for me, it's sort of a slow grief that flares up at times and then subsides, and is, of course, lessening with time. I missed his presence a lot at Christmastime, knowing that he would have only enhanced all of that warmth and beauty. The kids still talk about him a great deal, and it's good to know he'll always be part of our family. So farewell, our dear Khao-ie.

*This obscure name is a play on the Thai word for sticky rice, which is 'khao niaw'...'niaw' rhymes with 'meow' :)