A cat named Snoopy
see also: SNOOP'S PLACE
This page is dedicated to my boy Snoopy, a blind elderly diabetic kitty who met every day with innocent curiosity, took great pleasure in the simplest of things, and filled my heart to overflowing with joy and love.
Snoopy's story:
In the beginning: Our local shelter posted a photo of a blind older cat needing a retirement home. I fell in love with his adorable face. I brought him home. He sniffed everything, like a little beagle, so I named him Snoopy.
Some surprises: Not only was Snoopy blind, he was deaf. And an insulin dependent diabetic. And his kidneys were failing. He walked very slowly. I never really knew why, but figured he just liked to take time to stop and smell the catnip.
This dear cat took everything in stride. It's hard,tedious work for a blind cat to learn his way around a new place, especially for one who was not born blind. He had a lot of area to cover, but each day he met that challenge with dogged determination. Each day he explored more of his new home, quickly learning how to get to everything he needed and wanted. His keen sense of smell was his main guide. But he was also adept at using the vibrations he felt in the floor, and air currents when someone passed by him, to help him navigate in new surroundings.
He was truly a remarkable cat. He never sulked, never seemed to feel an ounce of self pity, never got discouraged. He reveled in those things he was able to enjoy- his food and treats,fresh running water in his beloved Drinkwell fountain, all the tantalizing smells and aromas that wafted by,and his naps! Oh did he love his naps!! I would watch him as he made himself comfortable and I'd think to myself, now there is a cat who naps like he means it!!
Snoopy moves on to his next life: He'd come a long way from the frail, dehydrated and so very ill cat that I brought home one summer day. He'd had his good days and his bad. More good, thankfully. We had 14 months and two days together. Not nearly long enough, but they were some of the best days of my life. Not a day goes by that I don't think of him, and miss him, and feel blessed that our paths crossed, however briefly.
Dream big, nap hard!
No day is so bad that it can't be fixed with a nap.
~Carrie Snow
PLEASE CONSIDER ADOPTING AN OLDER OR SPECIAL NEEDS CAT!
This is Snoopy's legacy and his gift to me:
What I learned from an old shelter cat
Keep your heart open for when love comes your way.
Live in the moment. Cherish every day.
Time only moves forward, and flies by so fast,
so don't carry the burdens and wounds of the past.
Be bold and be brave and you'll have no regrets
but most of all, take all the naps you can get!