Loved & Remembered: Zoe & Chloe

My family adopted Zoe when I was only 6 months old. They happened to be in Petsmart one day and noticed cats up for adoption. As the approached her cage, she put out her paw and began to lick my parent’s hands. They knew, instantly, that they were adopting a cat that day. Despite her seemingly affectionate nature at the store, Zoe revealed herself to be quite the actress. Once she was let out of her carrier and into the family home, she exposed her true nature of a cranky, vocal, diva, who wanted very little to do with anyone aside from my Mother.

As a fun, added surprise, a few weeks later my parents discovered Zoe was pregnant. She famously gave birth to her three kittens on my brother’s duvet, which he had left on the ground that morning instead of making his bed. My Mom was home with me at the time, and had the privilege of helping her new cat give birth while also tending to an infant. We kept one of the babies and named her Chloe, while the other two went to family and friends.

Zoe and Chloe were, quite literally, with me since day one. My earliest memories include them. Chloe was the opposite of her mother and could almost always be found in my arms. Zoe liked to maintain her aura of indifference, and would retaliate against anyone who dared to pick her up. The other she got, the softer she became. She slept beside me every night once I entered high school, and always knew when I was upset. If she heard me crying, she would come running to my door to lick the tears off of my face.

Zoe watching over me while I took a nap on the couch.

My sweet kitties began to grow old while I was a teenager. When I was 19, Zoe began to get quite sick. She began to lose weight, and gradually stopped eating and drinking, but still insisted on sleeping beside me each night, and following me from room to room (a habit she had picked up in her elderly years). My parents had witnesses a pet be put down before, and thought it would be better for her to pass away at home with us. We all deeply regretted this decision, and know now that euthanizing a pet is the most humane, loving thing you can do for them. One morning, Zoe collapsed on the floor and couldn’t get up. I picked her up and laid down in my bed with her on my chest, wrapped tightly in my arms. I think we lay there for almost 7 hours and I could not let her go, not even to get up to eat or go to the bathroom. At one point, I fell asleep and had one of the most vivid dreams I’ve ever had. In it, we were all back in my childhood home. This house was blessed with a massive backyard, which Zoe used to love to run around in. In the dream, Zoe and her other kittens who had died were there, running freely. My late Grandfather was watching them run and smiled at me. I woke up and realized she had passed while I was asleep. It was devastating, and to think of her suffering breaks my heart to this day. But I am also grateful I spent her last hours with her, in her favourite place.

About two years later, Chloe passed as well. My brother noticed her laying down in a sun spot, and thought something didn’t seem right. He sat with her and pet her for an hour until she peacefully passed away. Both of them are buried under the rose bush in my mother’s garden.

I am fortunate to have had my girls with me for as long as I did. Zoe was at least two years old when we got her, and lived to be over 23. Chloe was about 20 when she died.

Losing my cats felt impossible. They owned my heart. I adored them both so much, and their presence helped me survive the ups and downs of adolescence. Sometimes, when I am at my parents, I still feel the urge to look for them. Even after all these years, I expect to see Chloe curled up on the living room love seat, and Zoe licking her paws in the sun by the window. I like to think that’s where they are, I just can’t see them.

Loved & Remembered: Zoe & Chloe

We Are Our Pets’ Legacy