We’ve had over thirteen years together, this beautiful boy cat and I. He ventured along on our nomadic journey - from his adoption in Alaska, down the winding Alcan Highway -- to the steep hills above Seattle. Across town, to our house by the lake, and then to another where we first brought our infant son home. Not quite settled, we set off again to lush Mississippi in a VW van, with him voicing his opinion for hundreds of miles. And finally, we settled here, in the rolling foothills of the Ozark Mountains.
He’s shared us with several others along the way – the little girl kitty we adopted at the same time; a year younger and much feistier. She helped him run off the weight he’d gained being a vet clinic cat – they had fed him and fed him, waiting for the right people to adopt the boy they’d all fallen in love with. He shared us with the abandoned kitten, torn up and swollen who we nursed back to health - she’s still here curling herself around my ankles. He would clean her and eventually she started returning the favor. His big heart could convince you like that. There’s the porch cat we inherited when we moved in, along with my little rat terrier. He shared us with all of them, but none anchored a place in our hearts like Scooter did.
I will miss his old soul, housed in a silver tux and white gloves. I will miss his beautiful golden eyes. I will mourn the loss of his companionship. He has been there for the most important events in my life – my marriage and the birth of my son. He weathered the former easier than the latter, but even he grew to tolerate and then love small sticky fingers. Just like he could convince you to adore him, he couldn’t stay away from anyone for long. He was too curious, with such a capacity for love. After all, meeting new people is just another adventure? I imagine him saying that to me.
This little homestead will be his final resting place – his last stop on our journey together. Sometimes I dream of adventures my family will have in the future, places we may go; but somehow I think Scooter will hold us here. He will secure us to this quiet place, where he decided he wanted to stay; out in the backyard, under the evergreen and the wren box, held fast by the stone rocks – the same way he anchored my heart.
