Beneath the Willows

She appeared on our doorstep nearly nine years ago, August 27, 2013. A tiny, thin kitten managed to climb the stairs to our front door. Black with white trimmed fur, she had a very soft meow that stayed with her even as she grew. As an adult cat her meows were barely discernable. My daughter Anna decided she wanted to keep the kitten and needed a name. Its long fur of black and white markings made an elongated “W” on one side. We finally settled on Willow.

Anna took her to be spayed, but couldn’t pick Willow up afterwards. I made the trip. The cat clinic was in Derry. There was a major problem. Rain, it was a deluge. There were deep puddles that formed on Route 30. They had to be dodged. I picked Willow up trying several ways to get home. The detours took me onto roads I’d never driven before. One road was a river of rushing water pushing soccer ball-sized rocks that had to be maneuvered around. It took me nearly 2.5 hours that normally would take 45 minutes to get home.

Willow was a very territorial cat. When another kitten appeared on our porch, Willow would hurl herself at the storm door hissing and snarling. Fortunately we were able to find a home for the new kitten. We knew it would never be a two cat home.

Willow was a fairly good mouser. The only problem was she like to play with them. Several times I’d hear Willow jumping and running through the house. The noise would wake me. When I would check the noise, I’d find a mouse between her paws. She’d let go of it, then chase it until she caught it again. I grabbed a shoe and when she allowed it to escape again I dispatched it with the heel of my shoe, then gather the stunned or dead mouse by its tail and give it a burial at sea. FLUSH!

Willow actually saved my life. One winter I’d just cleaned the pipe of my wood burner. When I reassembled it, apparently I didn’t secure the pipe correctly and it separated allowing a small amount of smoke and carbon monoxide to escape into my house. She wouldn’t settle, but kept jumping onto my lap. I woke and repaired the pipe.

The past few days she refused to eat. She refused the canned cat food and didn’t touch the dry. I knew it was just a matter of time, and today was the day. She passed quietly. I dug a hole for her to rest beneath the willows.