Listen to the sound of silence

Sometimes silence is the only peace you will find. I went home Friday to discover my missing cat in the basement. He was sitting by the cat entrance and unresponsive to voice. I took him gently upstairs but moving him caused him to vomit.

I called around and let some of the kids know he was sick. Best Girl and her kids showed up to tell him good by. He was responding to pets and and comfort by moving his ears and closing his eyes but never a sound or attempt to move. I turned up the heat and put him in a crocheted star blanket I had made then laid him by the vent to keep him warm. He refused all food and water. That is my test for my animals. If they will even try to take water or milk I will try to get them to the vet to heal.

I decided to give him the night to see if he would recover but the results were the same in the morning. If you moved him he vomited and if you offered water or food he did the same. He was just barely breathing.

I sat with him, petting him and telling him what a great cat he had been. He would have been 12 on the 12th, he was a Mother's Day kitten. Saturday morning I packed him carefully in a box for travel and took him for a last ride. My caring vet and his wife helped me set my friend's spirit free.

Timone was born under a boat. His mom crawled out the dryer vent to have her children naturally. We called that batch "The Boat People". The biggest, fuzziest tortiseshell with the longest tail was destined to be King of Cats. I claimed him for myself while he was still wet and scraggly looking.

Being the most perfect cat with the longest tail, he took to his inherited duties seriously. The entire universe was designed to display him to perfection and he moved to enhance the universe with the beauty of his every motion. In his noble wisdom he allowed humans to seek their joy in caring for him and suffered himself to be petted for their comfort and happiness. He never harmed anything we brought home and always remembered a King's duty is to his subjects. If one of the animals was ill or one of his humans was disturbed he warmed them with his presence and soothed them with his royal purrs.

I know we live forever but it's hard to say good bye to friends. He was the last of the original five that moved into this home. Except for me. I confess to a bout of self pitying loneliness and a loud cry in my heart that screamed for the past to be made present. I'm over it and moving on.

Sunday I went for a ride on the bike and had the joy of a beautiful day but, having no one to share it with, I am still really Riding Solo now.