Day 145: Goodbye to Gabriel

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 145: Goodbye to Gabriel

Eleven years ago I joined a cat forum, not knowing that this forum was specifically for people with Ragdolls. I didn’t have a Ragdoll at the time, but the administrator let me stay anyway.

I quickly fell in love with this breed of cats. What was not to love, judging by the photos and stories they were beautiful, affectionate and smart.

Judging by the price of such a cat, I knew I would probably never own a Ragdoll, it just wasn’t in my budget. I preferred rescue animals over purebreds anyway. For the price of one purebred cat, I could help several abandoned ones.

Still, when I heard about a breeder who wanted to get rid of a Ragdoll kitten because it wasn’t perfect, I jumped at the chance. He was willing to let the kitten go at a fraction of the price. To this day I don’t know what was wrong with the kitten because it sure looked perfect to me. Right away we knew what we would call the little one … Gabriel, because he was a little angel.

When I first held Gabriel in my hands, I was surprised at how soft he was. From the forum, I knew how beautiful Ragdolls were, but nobody had told me how soft they were. His fur felt like that of a rabbit.

As soon as I brought Gabriel home, Mickey (one of the resident cats) adopted him. The two would eat, play and sleep together and were generally inseparable. When Mickey wasn’t around, Gabriel would substitute him with his cuddle buddy.

The years passed and Gabriel grew up. He might have looked angelic, but he could also be a little troublemaker. His toy was his and he was never one to share.

He had a fondness for toilet paper and frequently made a  mess in the bathroom.

Most of all, he liked the feel of moving the rugs. She would come running, jump on the rug and glide several feet further. He became known as 'the carpet surfer'.

He became the alpha of our household and those who dared to cross him were on the receiving side of a stare that spoke volumes. He ruled the roost.

  

Other than that, Gabriel’s life can be summed up with the slogan … live and let live. He was an easy going cat, who spent most of his time on his back. He liked sleeping in front of the fireplace, the cat tree, a cabinet, a chair, the windowsill, out on the balcony, or his favorite spot, on top of the wall unit in his basket. 

Wherever, whenever, Gabriel was an expert in relaxing and putting his feet up.

What he didn't like was having his picture taken. When he saw me coming with a camera, he got suspicious and turn his head. 

Last night things suddenly went wrong for him. He came into the living room crying and trying to vomit. Thinking that something was stuck in his throat we rushed him to the emergency clinic. As it turned out, his throat was clear but the vet said that he wasn’t doing well. Gabriel had heart failure and fluid was building up in his chest making it hard for him to breathe. His urge to vomit was because he was stressed. 

To make him comfortable he was given oxygen, but now we had to decide what to do. With the right medication, he could live a few more months, but all things considered, he would suffer. The vet said she would give us time to think it over.

I didn’t have to think it over. I knew the time had come to let Gabriel go. Even though Gabriel was only 10 years old, having an animal suffer is unacceptable. So he was brought to us, we said our goodbyes and he peacefully crossed over to Rainbow Bridge.

There are so many things we will miss about him. Dieter will miss him too as every night, without fail, Gabriel would jump in the chair next to him and demand to be petted. He would look at Dieter and let out a loud meow. BTW Gabriel never said meow as such, his meow sounded like “mayo”. 

Merely petting him was not enough, he wanted his head and specifically, his cheeks rubbed. If Dieter stopped too soon, Gabriel would meow again to tell him “Keep going” until he had enough.

Then he would retreat to his spot on the cat tree or jump via the cat tree onto the wall unit and lay in his basket. Gabriel would never curl up as such, he would rest or sleep on his back.

When the lights were turned off and I went to bed, he would come with me. Every night he would sleep on my bed. Last night he wasn’t there and this morning I missed his cry for breakfast.

While we are sad at the loss of Gabriel I have no doubt that he is in a wonderful place, reunited with Mickey and a variety of other cats. Rest in peace Gabriel. 

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I would like to thank everyone who commented on Gabriel's passing via email or Facebook. Your words were of comfort and I appreciate your support.