Walking Spirit

I found Cleo in a parking lot at my hotel in Corpus Christi about eight years ago. She was approximately three years old at the time. I didn't want strays hanging out around my hotel so I told the staff not to feed her but, they did anyway and so did the guests. She was extremely cute and would follow me around the hotel whenever I did my outside property walks. She wouldn't meow or beg, she'd just follow a few steps behind. Eventually I broke down and I'd pet her while on my walks. There was a lattice work fence around a gas meter at the front entrance that she liked to sleep on. Over time it became a normal everyday thing to pull up to the hotel, get out of my car, and visit with her before going in to work.

One night, after Cleo (her name was simply "cat" then) had been around for about a month a bad storm was coming. I walked outside and yelled "hey cat" and she came out from underneath a car in the parking lot. I gave her a little food and picked her up and put her in my car. I stopped at a 24hr Walmart on the way home and got all the supplies needed for a cat. When we got home I made an attempt to give her a bath. She never scratched or bit me but she certainly put up one hell of a fight!

From that night on she's slept by my side everynight and wouldn't leave my bed until I got up. She had these little furry mice that she played with like a kitten. At 11 years old she'd still come tearing through the living room batting her mice around, sometimes tossing them high up into the air. She'd even play fetch with the mice but she never really got good at dropping them right next to you. She'd get close but you still had to reach for them.

For eight years I've been treated to the gift on unconditional love from Cleo. Whenever I would come home she would walk into the room and roll around in the middle of the floor to say hello. Each night I'd carry her to the bed and she'd stay there until morning. When my alarm went off she'd walk to the head of the bed and push on my shoulder with her paw until I'd wake up. After the accident, when we moved her home from her temprorary care takers, she came straight to me. Whenever I'd move from room to room I'd turn around and she'd be there. Somehow, eventhough I couldn't pick her up and carry her anymore, she knew where to be and when I needed her.

On Saturday morning I took Cleo to the vet for her annual check up and vaccinations. Other than a few minor concerns the vet wanted me to watch, she came home with a clean bill of health. Approximately six hours later she died. She spent the afternoon outside and came in when she was ready. She appeared normal and happy as always but, about ten minutes later, we found her laying on the floor panting heavily. My Dad, Jamie, and I tried to get her to an emergency vet but she passed away in the car. Now she rests in my backyard between a Rose bush and a Golden Rain tree.