We knew the day was coming, but that didn't make the decision any easier. After 15 years of being a part of our family history, always being around for all the happenings, our beloved cat, Keekee, now remains only in our photographs and memories.Keekee grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, moved to the outskirts of Tokyo, and was buried in far northern Japan. All without a passport, I might add. It was quite a life for a cat. It's hard not to be sentimental and reflective about these things. After all, this was more than just a cat. Keekee connected us all the way back to our newlywed lives in Lansing, IL prior to Japan. She was a steady source of comfort and friendship when our family needed it in our adjustments to living in Japan. She was a constant in the many changes we experienced, and a treasure to our family.
But the seizures she began experiencing in her last week were too painful to watch. Her behavior changed and we would find her sleeping in odd places out of view. I suppose pets don't want their owners to see them suffering, any more than they themselves want to suffer. The vet gave us little hope for her recovery, so we let her go to sleep.
"Keekee" means "joyful princess" in Japanese. She certainly brought our family a lot of joy. I suppose the photo in front of the asian fan above proves that she already had Japan at heart 15 years ago. Thank you, Keekee, for making the journey with us together. We will miss you!
2 comments:
She is a beautiful cat. We have a dog and 2 cats. Momotaro, Onyx, and Yuki. Debi Schiefer Johnson
Thanks, Debi. I learned a lot from this cat. The importance of persistance, for example. She was perhaps the most tenacious cat I've ever known. A skill that comes in handy in church planting work here in Japan.
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