30 April 2016

Goop, R.I.P.


At 20 years of age, Goop, the little cat that spent her first 10 years with me in Pennsylvania, has passed away at my sister’s place there, where she spent her last 10 years.  She was always loved, and she knew it.  A lucky cat who was affectionate and a real clown. 

Twenty years ago, my American wife at that time had found little Goop and another kitten in an animal shelter in a rough area of East Cleveland while she was studying at nearby Case Western Reserve.  My wife called her a “little goofball”, and I evolved the name “Goop” from that.  Since two kittens proved a bit much for her, I took Goop back to Pennsylvania where I was living and teaching. 

As Goop and I drove east back to PA, she stood on my lap while I was driving.  She put her forepaws on the top of the steering wheel and looked out at the road ahead.  I held the wheel at its bottom rim, so it looked like Goop was driving.  As cars passed us on the interstate, I got a lot of double-take looks from the drivers. 

Goop adapted quickly to the mobile home at Wilderness Park and to the other cat I had inherited, “Mr. Cat” (who passed away in early 2000).  Goop would crowd my school paperwork as I had it spread across a big lapboard on my recliner.  She especially loved the big Full-Spectrum light-box that I would park squarely in front of my chair to combat SAD symptoms in the dark evenings and mornings of November and December.  Reading and grading student papers and planning lessons all had to be done by working around the furry Goop-ball that had claimed front and center against my chest. 

Goop and a 24-hour Classical music station out of Buffalo kept me sane in those lonely days. 

After my father’s death I moved to the old stone farmhouse in Sugar Grove for a few years.  At first, it took Goop a while to explore the huge house, but she soon settled in.  She was there to witness my marriage to Tuk on her visit to the States – and the plan was for Tuk to retire from her job in Thailand and return to Sugar Grove. 

At the end of the 2004-2005 school year, I suddenly realized that I couldn’t teach another term.  I was completely exhausted and depleted.  My FMS, plus the increasing bureaucratic burdens put upon teachers, ran me into the ground.  The FMS “brain fog” was the worst part of it, dulling my mental capabilities and radically crippling my effectiveness as a teacher.  Also, Tuk’s early retirement plans had hit snags, so we decided I would move to Thailand to be with her there. 

But what about Goop?  I thought I might have to take her to my sister’s home in upstate New York, where she would be wonderfully cared for but where she would also be traumatized by the radical change of place and people.  I even thought about bringing her to Thailand if possible. 

But Goop really lucked out with the timing when my brother-in-law lost his job in a major (but expected) down-sizing.  They had one option:  moving to the farmhouse in Sugar Grove.  Goop was lucky because, to her, it was her house and they were the new folks.  Her adjustment was minimal as they moved in gradually, and she even got along with their cats.  I could leave Goop with them when I moved to Thailand and know that she would be loved and cared for. 

It worked out very well for her, and she lived a long life. 

Rest in Peace, little Goop. 

-Zenwind.

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