Special thank you to Rocky, honorary death doula
With NO apologies to Sylvester Stallone, this Rocky is a CVERY personable black cat who outlived a previous resident at the extremely caring and conscientious Adult Family Home where RantMom spent the very last days of her life. Rocky is an average domestic shorthair. He has thin legs and a solid torso. Based on a report from Little Sister that it took him two tries to get all the way onto RantMom's bed, he probably is also elderly.
Sleeping with cats WOULD NOT OCCUR previously in RantMom's life. RantMom said that on the farm where she grew up, perhaps one white cat would live indoors and other barn cats would not come to the house. Mr. Tuxedo, the RantFamily's childhood cat always slept on old towels under the bottom shelf of the pantry. Later, after all the kids had moved out, RantMom inherited a scruffy medium-haired mix who drooled when petted and would not have been allowed on RantMom's bed.
So, if anything were going to make RantMom sit up bolt upright on her deathbed and bellow "Absolutely not," probably having a cat jump up and settle between her legs. A hospice nurse said that hospice patients do sometimes sit bolt upright and express extreme displeasure. We, RantWoman, Little Sister, Nephew made sure RantMom heard us acknowledge that cat comfort in bed would definitely be something unusual for RantMom.
We also decided to trust that the cat could recognize someone who needed comfort that beloved humans could not provide.
RantWoman will now return to news of many turbulent events, with advice that seems to make sense: "PACE the rage."
PS. A happier cat story for when there IS something to be done medically.
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