Lily: Travelin' Light

Our cat Lily passed today at 1:30 in the afternoon. I got her in 2005 at which time the Animal Shelter people told me that she was 3 years old. So by those estimates she was 19, quite an age for a cat. At the time I had moved into a cottage in the East Hills of San Jose. I had another cat, Angel, who immediately went missing I began a long period of going to Animal Shelter and the Humane Society like places hoping to find her. But to no avail. And on one of those trips when I was in search of Angel I walked past a cage and felt a little paw reach out and touch me. It was Lily. I noted her name and after my other cat never appeared, I noticed she came up for adoption, and you guessed it. At the time I had sold my property in the Santa Cruz mountains and was lucky enough to find a cottage for rent in the East Hills. And so she became my roommate.

You share different things with each cat. Lily took to life in the hills immediately. She became a huntress. She would bring birds inside the cottage. Many times I would take them to animal care centers because if untreated, cat saliva is deadly to birds. She would bring in gophers and once even a baby rabbit. But she loved birds. There was a pack of huge wild Turkeys that would cross where we lived. And I remember standing with her and seeing her expression when she realized they were birds, but definitely not her prey. Often I could go hiking in the paths in the hills. And quite often she would find me and we would hike together. Our way back to the cottage was uphill. And I found cats don't like that. I would have to wait for her on our return trek. Once when I was gone for awhile I had friends in the Los Gatos hills above the reservoir watch her and she went missing. She was gone for 3 months, but she finally turned up. There was my phone number on her collar so I was contacted and she came back. I remember her first night back she slept with her chin right on my neck with her body on my chest and stomach. After 3 months fending for herself she was glad to be home.

She was perhaps the most emotionally complex cat I've been with. She's a tortie  and a friend once commented that the more colors on a cat, the more emotionally complex they are. 4 colors. Very complex. She was fiercely independent and at the same time she was fiercely attached to me. When Elle came into my life, she bonded in her way with my partner.

For a long time it always seemed when I got close to a cat they would disappear or die very young  Sonny. Puff. Sonya. Tiger. So I once wondered if I would ever get a cat that would be a long term friend. I got my wish. Here is a video tribute to her:

‪https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY3xTOqh5pY‬