Spooky Halloween Cat

 

The Look Alike

One day two Octobers ago, I was in my garage. Sitting at my desk, I was playing on the computer on the website, ABCya. Suddenly, a long black cat crawled through the cat door, looking for some treats. It looked like my cat at first, but its front paws were black. My cat, Dora, has white spots on her front paws with a little white on her chin. So who was this strange cat?

What makes this super spooky is that it was very close to Halloween when the cat began to sneak into the house. Even more eerily, Dora and the spooky black cat would sit up next to each other like mirror images. Very scary!

Disappearance

Well, the spooky black cat kept coming back to my house each day that October. He would sneak through the cat door, looked for treats in the bowl. After that, he would find my cat Dora and mirrored her. Every single day! Finally, Halloween came and guess what? The spooky black cat never showed itself again that year. So spooky!

Third Cat's a Charm

Even more crazy was the fact that that spooky feral cat came back the following October!  He would grab some snacks, visit with Dora, and leave again each day. After Halloween, he was gone.
Again this fall, the spooky feral cat continued to visit us, especially in October. Unfortunately, we had to temporarily move out of our house during some remodeling.  Strangely enough, we saw a second stray black cat outside the second house where we ended up staying instead.  This black cat looked even more like Dora except it had a very short tail. Where are all of these black cats coming from?

Farewell Friends

Late in October, we moved back into our house. Unfortunately, Dora accepted no visitors as we had to keep the cat door in the garage sealed with all the random furniture and construction around the house. She was now an older cat and didn't like noise. She stayed burrowed in her cat bed under our white wonder of toy shelving. Our other cat, Tion, was there to keep her company, though. 

Sadly, my cat Dora passed away recently. In fact, the day after Halloween this year, she was gone. So eerie how the last two years' experiences seem to reflect this years' - just like the two black cats mirrored each other in passing.

Little Miss Dora

Our sweet little kitty, Miss Dora, passed away today.  She will forever hold a special place in our hearts as our chatty little Dora the Explora. Her passing came gradually.  In fact, we've been so caught up with the neighbor's construction, infestation, re-flooring, and refurnishing that we thought she was just hiding from the noise like she always does.  We should have understood that her lack of appetite and isolation were something more.  Just last month, I remember her interest in the catnip bat and haunted house scratching set I brought in for Halloween.  And the catnip treats she'd come out of hiding for.  But the last few weeks have been utter chaos.  Dora, I'm so sorry that you were lost in the shuffle.  I hope that you weren't suffering too much with that growth in your abdomen.  Please forgive me for not seeing the signs, for just trying to keep the kids healthy, for trying to keep myself sane.  This year has been too hard!  If I could, I would go back and spend more time with you these last few months, heck, these last few years.  I'll miss how you'd cuddle at the back of my chair getting warm while I messed around on the computer.  And I'll always cherish the sweet way you'd cuddle up to me in bed and wrap your tail around and tuck it under your paw so you could suck it, reminding me of your cute kitten self.  Growing old is not for the faint of heart, but I think you did it well and without complaint.  I'm thankful for the thirteen years that we had together and all those little joyful moments along the way.  Like when we would take you outside: you loved to eat cat grass then any grass actually.  I think you'd even sneak next door some days and visit our neighbor.  Oh, the secret life you may have led!  

Mister Tion misses you also.  I didn't notice it until now but he was hanging out with you almost exclusively in the garage.  Keeping you company?  Giving you comfort?  I hope so.  Today, he finally came into the house a lot and meowed for you.  I tried to explain that you are at peace now.  I cried with him on the bed a couple times.  We cuddled.  We miss you.

I really want to believe that there is a kitty cat heaven and that you rest there now surrounded by your best moments and memories of life.  I hope I get to visit you there someday; hopefully, far in the future.  ;-)  We'll cuddle together in a little ball like old times and feel such comfort and bliss.