ode for Jinx

For a grouchy old lady cat...
and mind, i never called you that...
you certainly had a lot of love
and could curl to fit any hand
better than a glove.
When i heard that hyperthyroidism
had nested in your butterfly gland,
thoughts of my dear Contessa leapt into my mind
and i knew your departure was near at hand.

Sadly, we did not have but fleeting moments to share
since that news months ago,
no time for more cuddles on the couch while we
watched a television show.
Those languid hours had only existed for us during Christmas holidays, though,
when the running bear would return to his native den and we could savor a pace much more slow.

Remember that four-hour binge of "Sex And The City" after i finally figured out the remote?
That was 2017, our first holiday together, when i brought turkey in my coat.
You sure did like that meat!
So much better than the usual treats!
And playing with the baggie was rather neat!

But my endless scratching of your ears was especially sweet...
for both of us.
Let me repeat -
for both of us.
Touch is as important and necessary for a human as it is for a cat.
Hugs are good, but they tend to be so fleeting,
petting on the go is okay when we are leaving -
however, only if a lengthy cuddling time has preceded such an act.

Although i was only recruited to handle the food and water,
i couldn't resist the invitation of your eyes
to stay for a while and do more than i ought to.
As an older lady, too, i could completely sympathize.
A house can become too quiet and fail to be a home
with no one there to greet you when you cease to roam.

A home becomes a building, just four walls and a door
if love is not within its bounds, walking on its floor.
You shall be missed, dear Jinx, but not by me alone.
For two Christmases i called you mine, but you were just on loan.
The running bear for your whole life was all you had known...
and my heart aches for his loss, as well as for my own.