By Kay & Shadow Luckett
My Name is Shadow, and I am Mama’s mystical black cat. I just turned 15 this July.
Truth be told, Mama is mine. I rescued her, and what a good mama she is. She still has her naive human ways as she answers my every beck and call. I do appreciate her being my loyal servant, but it would not be to my cat-advantage to let her know this in any human way.
I show my love by letting her pet me under my chin for an infinity of time, by grooming me first thing each morning, and by the serenity we both experience when we cuddle together.
It is summer weather for my yearly birthday, and I want you to be aware of the hot, humid weather we’re experiencing right now. Remembering to provide us kitties some cool places to hang out with lotsa water is life saving. Mama has three water stations for me in our home.
You should keep checking for any difficulties related to your own fur-person’s water stations and put a little ice in our water dishes everyday. It’s so hot and humid, and I for one do not like it unless I’ve chosen to nap in the sun. No hot fur for me today: I prefer my nice, cool apartment under the bed.
I’ve made so many friends this year—different kitties who all have stories, and their human folks. So today I’m making an exception for my birthday by sharing my gratitude and appreciation for some of my pals and their significant humans. But first, a bit of history.
My story starts when I was born. I was the cutest tiny, black girl-kitty anyone had ever seen, even though everyone thinks, ‘They all look alike’. Fat chance on that. I am gorgeously unique with my green-eyed stare and auburn tint to my fur from sunbathing. My first-ever mama took care of me until she….
Do humans cross the Rainbow Bridge? Well, my mama did, and suddenly at age 12 my life, my world, my security, all fell apart. Heartbroken and scared, I was sent to a safe place with lotsa cats, where I quietly hid myself in a corner cat bed.
Mama came to take me exactly one month later, hoping all the way that she would be my forever home. Upon arriving, I proceeded to find the deepest, darkest corner and settled into my personal abode for five weeks. I felt such relief at finally being in my own private space, but I still came out only at night after Mama was asleep to eat, drink, and use my personal litter box.
The wicked best part about that very stressful time was feeling Mama’s angst and listening to her calling my name, “Shadow, Shadow, Shadow”, while she searched for me everywhere. I moved a few times, and each time it took her a few days to find my new digs. She couldn’t see me in the dark because I’m black.
Feeling merciful one day, I allowed her to look into my eyes. We had a moment then and there, and in that moment I sensed that I was officially adopted and that together we had created a forever home.
Some of the friends I met this year, I didn’t actually meet in real-fur time, but in our psychic-cat way. When Mama and I write about kitties together it is 100% akin to bringing them alive into our hearts. For instance, today Mama went to take care of the Main Coons—remember them from last year? Their names are Sparky, Tilly, and Riley.
When Mama was there, she wasn’t aware that I was there too, in spirit. It was their mom, Barb, who said that she loves felines “because they choose you, and because cats know who their people are”. She also confessed to being a cat in a previous life.
I met so many others too, such as Bella & Buddy, Charlotte’s four cats, and Roamer. Honorable mention goes to Steve, who is dad to Katie in Colorado. Steve says, “You get no fake friendships from cats. They are their own person and generally know what they want”.
Another notable cat dad is Bill from the Museum of Indigenous People. He adopted two senior black boys sight unseen—Malachi and Levi. Bill says, “They’ve done a marvelous job at training me and have learned to tolerate me quite well.”
My world feels complete with 76 cat-years behind me (in my current lifetime), cat-guides from across the rainbow bridge and beyond, my doting Mama, and plenty of treats.
I’m giving a second big birthday shout-out to all of us catty-cats, and lotsa thanks to all our humans who are indispensable parts of the mystical feline network.
Meow.
