Today, my mom called me to inform me that our cat of 12 years has passed on.. A cat like no other and one that will be truly missed, had to be put to sleep because she met misfortune in the last day of her life..

When Dommie was just a few weeks old, her mother was hit by a car, while we were sitting outside, celebrating my sister’s birthday. The sound still plays in my head, as a loud bang made all of us get up and rush to the roadside. Her mother, “Anoeska” was hit by a man in a mini-van type of car. I was so pissed with him, for not paying close attention, although in actual fact, I knew it wasnt his fault. As a 16-17 year old boy, I cried over the loss of another truly remarkable cat, sweet as sugar and responsive to anyone. Little did I know that her daughter, Dommie, would bring as much joy to our lives, as she did..

Dommie was only a few weeks old, and we had to feed her by hand, trying to raise her to the strong cat that she became.. When one day, suddenly she stuck her head through one of the holes in the “banana-box” that we kept her and her little brother in. Because she had pushed her head through, probably while adventuring around the familiar area, she was unable to pull it back, as the ears blocked her return! On the outside of the box, she looked like a life hunting trophee, and it was then that we decided to call her Dommie, or “Silly” in English.

She grew up to become a strong cat, surviving many ordeals, from coming home with a bleeding face, dislocated nose and a crunching skull, likely caused by a car-accident, or someone that had kicked her in the face. We thought then that her days were counted, but no, indeed cats have nine lives: Dommie miraculously survived and became more beautiful than she was before! Just months after that, again she came home, bleeding from her near her legs. This time, it seemed like she had tried to jump over barb-wire, and got her leg stuck and tore the skin on her stomach. The vet recommended: keep her in the house for a while, but there’s little we can do.. She’ll have to heal on her own..

Dommie brought forward MANY kittens, every year, twice a year there was news of 2-4 newborns and they all found homes around the area, sometimes close, sometimes further away, but always – at the best of our knowledge – at peaceful and loving homes, where they hopefully still live today. One day however, my mother decided she had to “close the fence”, no more kittens.. So we started feeding her “the pill”. This time around however, she was not as “dumb” as her name might make her seem, as she figured that pills can be swallowed, regurgitated and thrown up on the lawn when nobody’s watching! She did this a few weeks in a row and found her Casanova in the neighbourhood.. Weeks later, again she was pregnant!

My mother got a bit worried, as she had been feeding her “the pill” continuously while paying attention she wouldn’t throw it up! And now, she was pregnant again! So, per immediate my mother stopped feeding her the pill, as this could endanger her pregnancy.. Some weeks later, she gave birth to 2 little kittens, 1 strong and 1 weak. The weak one was black with white, a beautiful, but very tiny kitten.. She was so weak that somewhere at night, a soft meow’ish squeel signaled her end.. We thought this would be the last time we’d see her kittens be born.

Yet, she still gave birth twice or three times after that. Yes, maybe we could have gotten her sterilized, yet we decided not to, or never got around to doing so.. If only we had, but that is always in hind-sight.. As today, my sister sent me a message online saying: Dommie gave birth to 4 baby kittens last night! The joyous news however ended quickly, as my mother was able to inform me that she saw Dommie jump out the window as she always did, however this time something seemed to be “hanging out of her”..

My mother tried to find Dommie outside, but she had already run off. Leaving the window open, my mother hoped to find Dommie back in the house in the morning, but she didnt. Several times my parents scoured the area, calling her name, when suddenly my dad spotted her in the bushes.. There she was, lying down, with something hanging out of her: her womb! She was rushed to the vet, but it already turned out to be too late: Dommie was uncureably ill and would not be able to pull through.. The vet advised us to let her sleep in, together with her 4 newborns..

With that, 12 magnificient years with a beautiful, loving, responsive and sweet cat by the name of Dommie left this earth and moved on.. Rest in peace, Dommie.. We will truly, TRULY miss you.. I love you..