Still reinventing herself 15 years on
IT was the year 2000 when my family and I made the move across the Shannon Estuary to Clare. It was a time for new beginnings — a new adventure. However, whilst my parents were preoccupied with making to-do and to-buy lists, unpacking and cleaning the house from top to bottom, my only need in the context of things at the time seemed trivial — getting a cat! So, of course, it wasn’t long before my persistent pleading and whining was given in to and we set off in search of the ‘perfect’ cat. The ‘perfect’ cat just so happened to be ‘Sabrina’ — a tiny, playful, jet — black kitten who tugged at our jumpers (and hearts) when we first met her. We knew she was the one. She would be coming home with us.
Fast forward to the year 2016 and a somewhat playful, black and grey — haired cat, carrying a little extra weight can be seen casually lounging in the house’s conservatory headquarters. I often like to think that Sabrina now spends her ‘retirement days’ in the conservatory reflecting upon her decade and a half of adventures. Without a doubt, it is many an adventure she has had.
Perhaps now as she sleeps she is recalling the time she rubbed herself against the newly-painted pink house and had to be hosed down by a somewhat mortified painter. Or perhaps about the time she jumped ten feet deep into a newly constructed slatted unit basement. For days I cried and pondered the fate of my beloved little kitten. It was my sister who found her, crouched on a floating piece of plastic, with a non-best pleased appearance. My reluctant father had the honour of retrieving an extendable ladder from the shed in order to come to her rescue. Of course in the process many a photo and video were captured of this enthralling and unfolding situation. However, this would not be his last rescue mission as he would eventually find out. From sloping rooftops to tall trees, Sabrina always seemed to end up in the most awkward and often, precarious of situations.
Sabrina’s tail has just flicked and I wonder if she is now recalling her finer moments in life as a feline. Maybe she is remembering her days of travelling comfortably through the gardens in a cushion — filled wheelbarrow or up and down the avenue in style on the roof top of my mother’s car.
Even at age 15 she still manages to reinvent herself all the time. Her latest antics include a scheduled ‘hug’ at approximately 6:45 following dining each evening. Sabrina has just woken up and placed her delicate paw on the sleeve of my jumper. For a cat of 15 years she has not changed much.
Ruth-Ann Browne, Kilrush, County Clare.
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