A Tail of Two Kitties

I don’t really like to think about it, but one day our 4-year-old daughter is going to ask that dreaded question:


“What happened to Lucy?”

George Carlin is often credited with saying that pets are “little tragedies in the making” because at some point they’re going to die, leaving broken hearts – and empty food dishes - behind.

Having a cat and a dog that are getting up there in years, I’m constantly dreading the prospect of their demise because 1.) I like them and 2.) we’ll have to explain the deaths to our daughter, Sunny.

We haven’t really talked to Sunny much about death, preferring to conveniently put it off until we absolutely have to. But my wife’s friend, Christy, wasn’t as fortunate.

Her family’s house cat, Silas, escaped from the house and went missing a couple of weeks ago, causing much distress to 4-year-old son Glen. Seeking outside help, Christy posted fliers around the neighborhood, asking anyone for info on the lost feline. (That’s not Silas in the above photo. But I do hope Bjorn found his kitty.)

Eventually, a friend called to say they had seen a cat that looked like Silas on the side of a road somewhere. Shortly after that, Christy’s husband returned with a bag containing a dead cat, forcing the parents to talk to Glen about mortality.

To make it easier, they held a formal funeral for Silas. They buried the poor kitty and then placed a marker above his grave.

And that was that. Though it was confusing, Glen at least learned a little lesson about dying.

Of course, that was all wiped away a couple of days later when Silas the cat came home.

Christy was looking out the window when she saw a white feline – slightly thinner and dirty but unmistakably Silas – walking past a window.

I’m not sure what they told Glen. But I’m guessing he’s probably happy to have his cat back. And he probably thinks dying is this thing where you leave the house for a few days and then come back really hungry.

It’s a pretty funny story – one you might see on a sitcom, if there were such things as sitcom writers. But this cat mix-up has led to several thoughts:

1.) Somebody will never find out what happened to their buried cat.

2.) But at least it got a proper burial.

3.) What if the real Silas killed the other look-a-like cat in some sort of
scheme to get life insurance money?

4.) What if Silas the cat really is dead and some other, opportunistic cat is now stepping into his shoes?

5.) Was that Tom & Jerry bit about cats having nine lives real?

While you ponder these important questions, here's a highly relevant video. Meanwhile, I’m going to go check on Lucy.

--Pat P.