From the beginning when I sat down at the Pet Shelter and Zo ran up to me to greet me, I knew she was something special. The shelter allows cats to roam the premises and out in the yard. Out of all of the cats there, Zo came over and said hello. From that point forward, Zo and I developed a relationship that lasted for over 13 years.
Zo was a brown tabby and full of energy. She began following me around the house. Wherever I went, she followed. She always slept on a table next to my left elbow in my office. She reclined on my lap when I sat and read. We bought her a stick with a string and “mouse” attached to it for her. Rather than play with it, she would drag it to whatever room I was in giving off a guttural sound as she walked with it, She even brought it up on the bed during the night. Then, she would knead me periodically throughout the night. Zo would seek me out when she was frightened by a bang or noise of some kind. She would sit on the table in front of me when I read the morning paper and have some coffee. She would lay on my chest while I stroked her under the chin and petted her across her body.
When feeding her, she would sit and wait patiently while I was putting wet food in her bowl. If she finished and wanted more, she would sit and patiently wait for me to give her some more. At the vet’s, she was always accommodating, always loving always sweet. She was quiet, meowed very little. She was love in its perfection. She became the love of my life and I’m devastated at her loss. I miss her terribly, but when I look at her photo, I see a reassurance in her eyes that was always there.
Once, during the numerous times she went to the vet’s with health problems that plagued her throughout her life, she was in the kitty hospital after surgery. I stopped in to see her. When I got there, I stood and watched her without her being aware of my presence. She had tubes running out of her, but she was sitting up in a cage. She looked depressed. I walked over to her. When she looked up and saw me, she her face brightened up. She meowed, one of those kinds of meows where she moved her mouth and face, but there was no sound.
With Zo gone now, there is more love in me because of Zo. I think in terms of Zo’s legacy,which is love. Wherever I go, whatever I do,I think of Zo and I think of love. She is a guiding light to my soul to try in my clumsy way to be as loving as she was.