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We decided to call him
"Shadow". It seemed appropriate. If that was
really his name, we'll never know. But he deserved to have a
name so he wouldn't be lost in time without a memory.
We pulled over along side a
small highway to take a picture in the Anderson Valley in Northern
California. The road had just opened up to a beautiful wide
valley. It was early in the morning and the sun was sending
slanted rays of light onto the rolling hills, turning them golden
before the heat of the day began to rise.
The cat was just across the
road. A small black lump in the brush that didn't move, even
when a car drove by. We went over to see if he was OK.
He wasn't.
He had been hit by a car and
had clearly laid there for several hours, badly injured, scared and
in pain.
He tried to get away when we
approached, but was so badly hurt, he couldn't go very far.
We wrapped him in a blanket
and drove to the nearest town to find a vet. Although he was
terrified, most of the way he stayed relaxed and closed his
eyes. I think he knew somehow that we were trying to take care
of him.
Through the extraordinary
kindness of a stranger who went out of his way to help, we were able
to get him to a vet who confirmed the bad news we already knew in our
hearts. The cat's back was broken and he had internal injuries
and would have to be put to sleep.
We continued on our journey
in tears, mourning the death of a beautiful black cat with gold eyes
who would never know the fullness of a cat's life or the joys of a
loving home.
But we also marveled at the
"coincidences" that came together that morning. The
"coincidences" that had us drive up a road we didn't
normally take, stop to take a picture in that spot, see the injured
kitty across the road, have a blanket to wrap him in to keep him
comfortable, a second person to hold him during the drive, a stranger
to help us get help and a vet who was willing to do the right
thing. What allowed us to be there at the right time, so he
wouldn't lie there in pain for days while he baked in the heat and
died slowly of thirst and hunger and pain.
What mysterious grace or
divinity or Universal flow were we all caught in? What divinity
allowed each of us to be in the right place, and do the right thing,
to take care of a Cat we had never met and would never know, and,
just for that moment, be his family when he really needed it.
So we called him Shadow and
said goodbye and will keep him in our hearts forever.
He will forever remind us of
the love of Cats we were all part of that morning. |
