The loss of a pet yields a unique type of grief.
Some people’s, post-divorce acquisition is a home, other’s a
car, but since I got the house and did not need a new car, mine was a cat. It’s
a rite of passage for the newly single, perhaps the first time they have made a
major purchase solo. Or, as in my case, the first time in a long time.
The cat was not really a solo acquisition. It was my son and
me. It was the first big thing we did together post-divorce that was just the
two of us.
Eighteen and a half years ago we drove to a double-wide in a
slightly more rural area than ours, too close to the city to be country, but
too far and wild to be suburban. It felt like an adventure.
She was a beautiful, tiny kitten billed as Siamese, which
the mother clearly was, the father clearly not. It was one of those situations
where, you’ve come this far, can you walk away kittenless? Of course not. I did
not point out that Eulogy For My Post-Divorce Cat
she was obviously only half Siamese. Truth be told, I was a
little afraid to question the sellers who didn’t look like they were too
interested in bargaining.
Though this was to be a sweet, shared experience, half-way home she peed on my son and he asked if we could take her back. I said essentially that there was no way I was going back there and was quite sure we were not getting our money back.
