The bond between an animal and a human is extraordinary and wondrous.
Beyond the well-known unconditional love animals offer, there is something spiritual there. Cats are spiritual animals. They are sometimes just pure spirit, sometimes they just float inside the room and dissolve out of it.
When I walk into the room, my cat may be sound asleep but she greets me instantly by subtly starting a low purr. She doesn't move a muscle or open an eyelid -- just the soft purr. She knows I'm there and acknowledges me even in her deep sleep. Other times she instantly opens her eyes and raises her head in anticipation of a head scratch or an ear rub.
If I leave the room she either turns the motor off and returns to sleep, or jumps up and follows me with her tail-flag happily waving behind her.
She sits near me, not wanting anything but to be hear me. If I feel sick, she knows it and cuddles close, and I feel comforted and just a little less sick, a little less discouraged.
When she was younger and more active, we would play "Bubble" every day. My dollar-store bubble bottle could produce lots and lots of bubbles, which sparkled rainbows in the afternoon sun and created lots of interest for her. Possibly she didn't realize she could chase and catch them like I showed her hundreds of times, but she would just keep watching -- watching -- watching . A bubble might land on her back or her head or her nose, but she just accepted it like "yeah, that's life...". Or else she was completely mesmerized.
I have learned her language and she has learned mine. I respond to her "hello" -- a short trill rising in pitch -- with my own "Hiiiiiii, Jumpy!!!!" She never uses that particular voice unless we haven't seen each other in a few hours.
Jumpy responds to about 50 human/English words, which seems like quite a vocabulary. It took her only three times to learn each word.
Jumpy is now nearing the end of her life and I realize we have a spiritual bond unmatched by any other relationship, We take care of each other in our own ways giving what we can and accepting lovingly what is given, Her spirit will always float in my room.
The bond between Jumpy and me is extraordinary and wondrous.
-written before but posted after her death on May 14, 2021, three days before her 14th birthday
