Last week one of my kittens, Milo,
disappeared from home. We had two little kittens – Milo and Charlie – sisters,
who were extremely special to me. They were strictly inside cats. If I didn’t see
them around me for 30 minutes or more, I would have everyone in the house out
searching for them.
On Friday, just after lunch, I noticed that
Milo was no longer sitting in the study with me. I immediately began calling
for her. Milo and Charlie were better than dogs. All it would take was a quick
call from me and they would come running. Normally Milo would appear, running
very quickly towards me, with a mewing sound, which I always thought sounded
like her calling out to me, “Look, here I am dad!” This time, nothing.
Milo and her sister, Charlie |
We began searching the house, the garden. My
wife and son went walking in the park behind our home, up and down the street.
We asked at our neighbours. Soon even I was out in the street, oxygen machine
in tow. But Milo didn’t appear.
Late that afternoon we decided it was time
to post “lost” posters all around the neighbourhood. I was hoping that before
long we would receive a phone call saying Milo had been found.
We did get a phone call but it was not
exactly the phone call I had wanted to receive. A lady bravely told my wife on
the telephone that she had driven over a little cat by accident earlier that
afternoon. She had rushed Milo to the vet but, unfortunately, Milo had died by
the time they got her to the vet. Just two days before she was due to turn 9
months old, on the 15th of January 2012.
I must say that it took an incredible amount
of courage for the women to phone us and let us know what had actually
happened. She could have remained silent and we would never have known what had
happened. Instead, we would have spent day after day looking for Milo and
wondering what had happened to her. The world needs more people like that brave
lady. Thank you for being so honest and thank you for your wonderful example of
Christianity in action.
Obviously, I was, am, absolutely devastated
about the death my little kitten. I began to wonder whether it was okay for
Catholics to pray for their pets. I know that pets do not go to heaven. When
they die their lives end. But does that mean that we can’t pray for our pets.
While researching the subject, I came across an article by Dr. Richard Geraghty
titled “Pets In Heaven”.
I also came across this prayer for pets[1], which I would like to use
to end off this post about my beautiful kitten, Milo.
Almighty
God,
I
was fortunate to receive the gift of Milo
from You
Now
that she has left this life,
please
help me to cope with my loss with strength and courage.
I
know that my beloved companion no longer suffers,
and
that she will live on in many fond memories.
May
these memories be treated with the care and respect.
As
she has enriched my life,
I
pray that I may enrich the lives of others. Amen.
So sorry for your loss! I grew up with three cats that were truly like siblings to me.
ReplyDeleteThe prayer is lovely :)