RIP Pinkerton
At this point in life we have adopted many cats and been adopted by a few. It is easy to say that Pinkerton was the mellowest cat we have ever been a person for. She was persistently on low alert. I’ll miss how she insisted on laying over my heart, making it impossible to do anything else but give her love. She liked to be cradled upside down like a baby or to cruise around zipped up in Christina’s hoodie. As an example of her relaxed lifestyle I found a video of her and Scout play fighting at paw’s length from a prone position.
As a younger cat she was pretty quiet. Cats that live to older ages develop more complex personalities and often vocalize more. Pinkerton’s voice became more raspy with age. The last four or five years she sounded like Azreal from The Smurfs.
In these last few years I decided that at some point there would be a day where I wouldn’t have the opportunity or privilege to be inconvenienced by her choice of using my hand for a pillow. It was then I decided to grant every request she made of me.
She would visit me in the middle of the night to lick my forearm. When I awoke in the morning she would immediately move in my spot on the bed inhabiting the warm spot like it was hers. She would then roll onto her back, looking for belly rubs.
Generally the oldest of the colony takes the alpha position. Even tiny Tango would smack every cat at dinner. I’m not sure what she was enforcing, but it was a regular event. When she passed, Pinkerton was next in line but had no interest and delegated the position down for Scout and Maebe to fight over. She simply gave no fucks.
It saddens me to be writing yet another cat obituary, it was her time. She lived a long life and a luxurious one at that. The felines around here are fairly spoiled. Even though I know this, I miss her.
Lately she has visited me in my dreams, licking my arm, checking on me, and crowing her old cat wisdom at me. I awake and she is gone. I understand the way of it and it makes me sad. Each day offers a bit more healing.
Normally a cat obituary invokes a prayer to the Happy Hunting Grounds, but she had no interest in that. While she did not care for the pursuit of prey, she did enjoy strolling around with Maebe or Scout. Instead I wish her a world of mellow exploration, an infinite Paw Patrol.