BooBoo was not supposed to be our cat. She came to visit one day in July 1994
because Michael’s parents were in the midst of unpacking from an international
move and they were afraid she would get lost in the packing materials. Michael’s brother Christopher had found her
when he was out walking his dog in the woods near Fort Bragg, NC and simply
could not find it in his heart to just leave the poor, starving, flea infested
kitten to die.
God bless her, she was not a particularly cute kitten but
had loads of energy and she soon took her place in Michael’s heart and became a
play mate to our one year old Sprout, thus giving him someone to roughhouse
with and giving the older cats Skates and Snuggles a break. BooBoo was a Tortoiseshell,
but we simply called her our Mildew cat, describing her as the color one would
get if they put a whole bunch of different colored cats in a bag and shook it
up then BooBoo was what you would end up with.
Early on during her “visit” I witnessed Michael interacting
with her and realized that she was no longer a visitor so I too gave in and
allowed myself to also fall under her spell.
As she grew we realized that she was going to be a long hair cat and
soon became the beautiful creature with the human-like face that always caught
the eye of anyone lucky enough to catch a glimpse of her.
To say she was special somehow does not seem adequate; she
was beyond special to us and to her feline brothers and sisters. Even though
she was the youngest of three, in 2001 she assumed the position of Alpha Cat
when our dear Snuggles passed away on Memorial Day. She took her position very seriously and she
ruled the house with an iron paw.
“As for humans, God tests them so that they
may see that they are like the animals. Surely the fate of
human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As
one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage
over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and
to dust all return. Who
knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes
down into the earth?”
Early on during her “visit” I witnessed Michael interacting
with her and realized that she was no longer a visitor so I too gave in and
allowed myself to also fall under her spell.
As she grew we realized that she was going to be a long hair cat and
soon became the beautiful creature with the human-like face that always caught
the eye of anyone lucky enough to catch a glimpse of her.
BooBoo was a feral cat, the first of many that we have
shared our home with, and for the first several years she was rarely seen by any
adult who did not live in our house.
BooBoo loved kids though and our daughters Lindsey and Hayley were nine and
seven in the summer of 94 so she really became their cat. She loved nothing
better than hanging out with them and their friends.
To say she was special somehow does not seem adequate; she
was beyond special to us and to her feline brothers and sisters. Even though
she was the youngest of three, in 2001 she assumed the position of Alpha Cat
when our dear Snuggles passed away on Memorial Day. She took her position very seriously and she
ruled the house with an iron paw.
As the years passed, she became less and less fearful of
people and would spend time with visitors, first family members and friends who
visited often, and by the time we moved to Texas in 2005, she was openly engaging
with anyone who entered our home.
I cannot begin to express how much joy she brought into our lives, how much laughter and how much amazement at how smart and intuitive she was. She was a beauty in appearance and in spirit and her passing leaves a void that may always remain. We loved her and she us, not just a pet or even a family member, she was a part of us and her spirit will always be with us.
I cannot begin to express how much joy she brought into our lives, how much laughter and how much amazement at how smart and intuitive she was. She was a beauty in appearance and in spirit and her passing leaves a void that may always remain. We loved her and she us, not just a pet or even a family member, she was a part of us and her spirit will always be with us.
“As for humans, God tests them so that they
may see that they are like the animals. Surely the fate of
human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As
one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage
over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and
to dust all return. Who
knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes
down into the earth?”
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