Just had to take a moment to bid a sad farewell to my family's cat, Cream. She died on Saturday at the ripe old age of 15, almost a year after the death of her sister Peaches. Though this isn't entirely unexpected (she hadn't been well in recent momths, and did not look very good when I last saw her a couple of weeks ago), it's another blow to the family and, really, the end of an unexpected era.
See, we were a tried-and-true dog family for the first 16 years of my life. But after Smokey (the greatest dog of all time) died in 1993, we decided that our dog days were done. A year or so later, despite some skepticism from my dad and myself, the decision was made to get a cat. My sister, Jackie, picked out a little cutie named Cream, and we were talked into taking a second one, too (my mom chose Peaches, the runt of the litter). Thus began the feline era in the Deutsch household.
Though they were sisters, Peaches and Cream couldn't have been more different. Whereas Peaches was round and roly-poly, Cream was lean and powerful, able to swat birds out of midair and outsmart rodents of all kinds. And whereas Peaches was very personable and always craved attention, Cream didn't really much care for such things. Not that she didn't like it -- she just didn't seek it out. She was content to lie there minding her own business, and if someone happened to come over and pet her, she'd be into it. It's also worth noting that whereas Peaches would occasionally lose her temper and scratch you, Cream never -- I mean, not ONCE in 15 years -- used her claws on a human being. It was kind of bizarre! Sometimes I would take her paw and put it to my face and say, "SCRATCH ME, JUST TO PROVE THAT YOU'RE A REAL CAT!" But she never would. She was also kind of neurotic, enjoyed jumping on the kitchen table, eating human food of all kinds (like, pretty much anything), and had the weirdest "meow" when she was hungry. All of these things were part of her charm.
See, we were a tried-and-true dog family for the first 16 years of my life. But after Smokey (the greatest dog of all time) died in 1993, we decided that our dog days were done. A year or so later, despite some skepticism from my dad and myself, the decision was made to get a cat. My sister, Jackie, picked out a little cutie named Cream, and we were talked into taking a second one, too (my mom chose Peaches, the runt of the litter). Thus began the feline era in the Deutsch household.
Though they were sisters, Peaches and Cream couldn't have been more different. Whereas Peaches was round and roly-poly, Cream was lean and powerful, able to swat birds out of midair and outsmart rodents of all kinds. And whereas Peaches was very personable and always craved attention, Cream didn't really much care for such things. Not that she didn't like it -- she just didn't seek it out. She was content to lie there minding her own business, and if someone happened to come over and pet her, she'd be into it. It's also worth noting that whereas Peaches would occasionally lose her temper and scratch you, Cream never -- I mean, not ONCE in 15 years -- used her claws on a human being. It was kind of bizarre! Sometimes I would take her paw and put it to my face and say, "SCRATCH ME, JUST TO PROVE THAT YOU'RE A REAL CAT!" But she never would. She was also kind of neurotic, enjoyed jumping on the kitchen table, eating human food of all kinds (like, pretty much anything), and had the weirdest "meow" when she was hungry. All of these things were part of her charm.
Farewell, Creamy girl -- we miss you, but we take some solace in knowing that somewhere, somehow, you and little Peaches are playing & frolicking together again....
CREAM
1994 to 2009
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