The Time My Sister Accidentally Killed Our Cat
We never truly recovered from the trauma
No one told the cat that sleeping with humans can prove fatal
We woke up one morning to find the poor creature dead.
It was our kitten that slept with us each night.
The poor baby was crushed, flattened under my sister.
Once upon a time, my sister and I shared a bed.
My sister was a very restless sleeper. She would throw her legs this way and that while she slept.
Our house cat had given birth and presently one of the babies decided to sleep with us each night.
Being kids ourselves, we thought this was such fun.
We did not understand the dangers of having a tiny creature subject to the sleeping habits of either one or both of us.
My sister generally thrashed about in her sleep at night.
While I retreated to one end to stay out of her night-time kung-fu.
My grandmother said my sister had a restless spirit.
Indeed, my sister got into all forms of mischief each day. She would be punished and promptly repeated the errors the next day.
Everything she was not supposed to do, she seemed to take a perverse pleasure in doing.
One morning we awoke to the gruesome sight; the kitten was dead, apparently crushed under the weight of my sister’s body.
Finally
What we do not know has the power to hurt us and permanently alter the course of our pet-owning lives.
The death of that poor cat was devastating to both of us.
It is a horror neither of us ever forgot.
And it marred the idea of having a pet for a long time.
I love cats. There is such an innocent beauty to them, their graceful movements and lithe physique a thing of envy. I have never had another cat as a pet.
Now my Snooky has been pleading for a pet. I have begun considering a cat again.
Armed with more knowledge, we can safely love and accommodate our feline pet, should we decide to take the plunge.
Thank you Ellie Jacobson for her prompt Flint and Steel for her prompt.
Pene Hodge is a mom, a nurse, a writer. She writes because she must. She loves people and is committed to sharing and gleaning knowledge for the betterment of all.