Frankenstein has sauntered up the bifröst to Valhalla. She was 17, and in her last years we questioned whether she was secretly immortal, having lived with kidney disease and hyperthyroidism for 5 years or so. But she went downhill pretty fast these last few months, and breathed her last in my arms at about 10 after midnight. She was known by many names: Frankie, Fritz, Franklin, Stinker, Asshole, Purrbox... and I'm sure others I've forgotten, or never knew.
She was, like most cats, aloof and independent...until she wasn't. Then she was all demands for warm snuggles, headbutts to the chin, fish breath in your face. She went through a phase where she would spend winters' nights on my chest with her paws at my throat, firmly massaging the blood vessels which transported blood to and from my brain. I presume my neck was soft and warm, and a more pleasant tactile experience than Ryan's stubble. Or she was trying to help me sleep by rendering me unconscious.
She was sweet and funny, and perpetually exasperated by our stubborn insistence in acquiring additional family members. She never warmed up to our first dog, Bailey, or our current dog, Hazel, but she did enjoy the girls as infants and after age 4. (Toddlers were a no-go).
She would not tolerate additional cats, ever. With her delicate digestion and food sensitivities, she made pretty sure that we wouldn't be interested in additional cats either. I will not miss her special food smells, or the resultant output. I was intermittently allergic to her too - and my eyes would start to burn, stream, and swell for no reason other than she was in my face. When she would affectionately rub her jaw on my chin she left saliva samples, making my skin itch. Not gonna miss that.
I will miss her though. I'll miss the rumbly purr-machine who insisted on snuggling me through every chilly night. I'll miss the chattering sounds when she spied a bird out the window, the deep, unearthly wails she'd release if we let her have her stuffed hedgehog, or just her regular conversation, greeting us, announcing her hunger or thirst. I'll miss the sunlight dappling the striking colors of her coat and illuminating her brilliant green eyes.
Goodbye Frankie, my sweet kitty. I love you.
#petloss #pet #death #catsofmastodon #inmemorium
