My parents’ attitude towards animals was that its usefulness was only fulfilled if it provided sustenance for the body or labor for the farm. Both of my parents grew up during the Great Depression, during which time neither of them had much in the way of pets. Poor farm folk simply could not afford idle mouths to feed, so there would be no such silliness in their household. My mother’s father was a very strict, ultra-religious man who countenanced no frills. She would inherit his traits. My Father had much the same upbringing and offered Mother no argument when it came to household pets: they would simply not be allowed in their house.
I am older than my sister by a few years, and she and I grew up in a home mostly devoid of household pets. So it remained until just after my sister’s high school graduation when my sister received a kitten for Christmas, courtesy of a friend. My sister was at the time a freshman in college, living in a dormitory, so returning to college with the kitty was out of the question. I was already married with children, and had my own set of responsibilities, so I could not take on the added burden of caring for an animal, so would Mom and Dad be willing to let the kitten live with them while sister went back to college?
Mom let her objections be known, and Dad agreed with Mom, of course. In the meantime, we had our Christmas that year, and most of our family was there, all enjoying each other’s presence and the many presents! Among the presents the kids received was a race-car set my husband and I gave our son. He and my husband set it up, and we adults all sat around and watched him race his cars about the track. And so did the kitty. She was such a gorgeous little kitty – a beautiful calico with large areas of white. It was funny to watch that energetic little bundle of fur bouncing around the track after the little car. I don’t know about my sister, but as I watched the little kitty running around, chasing the car I thought about what it might have been like for us if we had been allowed to have pets while we were growing up.
Nowadays I have cats. As a matter of fact, cat reclamation is sort of a hobby of mine. Unlike the experience I had growing up I saw to it that my children had pets. Today I have a daughter who “claims” she speaks “kitten,” and …, well, that story is separate and will stand on its own. But looking back on that Christmas morning more than 40 years ago, I can still see that little ball of white calico racing around the track, chasing the little cars, wondering what was to become of her.
It turns out that I wasn’t the only one amused by the antics of the little kitty. Evidently my dad had been observing and was much amused. My dad sat there giggling like a school child as the kitty ran and jumped and entertained us all. “I don’t see what harm it would do,” he said blithely. So too, it turned out, had my mother been observing the kitty, and it came as a great relief to my sister and big surprise to me when Mom spoke up and said that the kitty could stay while my sister was away in college, but …, the kitten had to go as soon as my sister graduated. “In the meantime,” said my mother who turned and looked sternly at my father: “She’s your responsibility until then.”
And so began the saga of Piewacket and her time with the family. Sis would go off to college, and my parents would become parents all over again – albeit foster parents. I didn’t know for sure, but I figured that neither of my parents had ever owned a pet, or if they had their experience was limited, so it would be a curious thing to see how this experiment would develop. As it turned out, it went pretty well. My sister did her stint in college, and my parents fulfilled their responsibility of “foster” parenting while she was away. Of course, sister would return home from time to time during that four year period, and she and Piewacket would make their visits together. Sis would always return to college, and Mom and Dad would continue to look after the kitty, feeding her and changing her litter box.
As in this world time moves and on, and so it did for Mom and Dad. Mom was diagnosed with ALS at a relatively young age. As the years passed the disease progressed, and Mom came to be confined to her home. In the meantime Sis had graduated from college, and per the agreement she had with my parents, promptly showed up at home to get the cat and move her into my her new apartment. There was a glitch in that arrangement, however, when Sis discovered that one of her roommates was allergic to cats. Her plans were to live there temporarily and move on so she could reclaim her kitty, so my parents agreed that the cat could stay on with them a while longer. Dad had assumed the domestic duties of the household, among which included the personal care of my mother, who had gradually lost her ability to care for herself, and most of the care for Piewacket. Another few years passed, and sister made an attempt to retrieve the kitty only to find another glitch: she had gotten married, but she had forgotten to ask if he liked cats. He was adamantly opposed to having one in the house, so Piewacket continued to stay on with Mom and Dad.
Time went on, and Sis decided that the marriage wasn’t working, so she separated from her husband and got her an apartment by herself, whereupon she presented herself at my parents’ house to retrieve Piewacket, who by then was past 10 years of age, having lived her whole life at my parents’ home.
“Perhaps you ought to leave her here,” said my dad. Sis had Piewacket in her arms and was exiting my parents’ house when my dad confronted her at the door. “Reaching out and taking Piewacket from my sister, he continued, “She’s been here for these years …, she’s too old and accustomed to this place …, why not get yourself another kitten …? You would like that.”
“Well, I promised I would come back and get her …”
“No. I think she should stay. Your mother and I have decided. You’re starting over – why not just get another kitty and start over with that one?” In the end my dad insisted that Piewacket stay with him and Mom, and that was the end of that. Piewacket, would not be leaving the only home she had ever known.
As I sit here I am reminded of those days of not so long ago. Mom had begun a regular routine of hospital visits for testing. Dad would go and stay there with her, and much to our relief and parents’, Piewacket was allowed to go too. I can recall going to the hospital to see Mom. Dad would be there, sitting beside her bed, holding her hand, and in his lap there would be Piewacket. With one hand Dad would be holding onto Mother, and with the other he would be stroking Piewacket. Mother would have a need, and Dad would slowly rise from his chair and gently place Piewacket on the seat. Dad would get Mother a glass of water or see to some other personal need. Then he would return to the chair, and once again gently pick up Piewacket and sit down. Then he would reach over and place his hand on mother, while resuming his other attentions to Piewacket.
At that time, Piewacket was up in years, and she had her own personal needs that needed tending. Once during one of my visits I observed as Dad carried Piewacket into the bathroom where he had placed her litter box, so that she could tend to her “business.” On another visit I saw my dad rise up and lean over so he could hear something mother was saying to him. He then held Piewacket close to Mom where she could see and assure herself that the cat was okay. Mother reached a feeble hand to touch Piewacket’s fur, and from where I stood in the room I observed the relief that crossed my mother’s face. Dad, too, held Piewacket close as he tenderly stroked the beautiful calico fur.
Yes, I recall those days. My parents are gone now, my mother having preceeded my dad in death by five years. Piewacket died several years before my mother. My parents never had another animal in the house after Piewacket. As I said before, my parents’ attitude towards animals was that its usefulness was only fulfilled if it provided sustenance for the body or labor for the farm. That described my parents’ attitude toward pets for the most part, and for the most part they never had a pet, and they would never have one. There simply was no room in their lives for such frivolity.
That is except for those few years when Piewacket came to live in their home. A period of time that was to last for 22 years!
Originally Posted by sasvermont
[Sorry! I couldn't resist!]
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