This past week our kitties were killed at night by a dog. Paul noticed when he was looking out the window in the morning, that he didn’t see the two littlest kitties playing like usual. So he went to investigate further and found Lucky and Garfield's bodies but not Icey. He came in and told me the news and my heart sank. Lucky was the children’s favorite kitty. She was the only one to survive Phantom’s, the baby’s mom, first litter…thus her name. Lucky was born the week before the children got out of school. She was the mellowest cat we’ve ever had. She let the children hold her and love her. She didn’t scratch or run away from the children like other kitties we’ve had. The boys asked me several times if they could keep her inside, but my allergies would not allow it. The other two kitties were born two weeks before I had our baby. They were so cute, and we enjoyed watching them play in boxes the children constructed for their “home.”
I had no idea how much this would affect me…I loved watching the children interact with these little cats. They genuinely loved them and Lucky especially was endearing to me. I wept as I thought of the boy’s losing something that meant so much to them. Later I went out to look at Phantom. I noticed her eye was closed and she had a scratch mark on her face. A whole new wave of emotion overcame me as I envisioned her trying to protect her babies and failing.
David was the first one after school to discover that the kitties weren’t there. I noticed him outside looking and pretty soon he came in asking me if I knew where they were. I told him what had happened and a look of pure disbelief crossed his face. We sat and cried together. Jacob and Kimball were very upset by the news too. Later that night Kimball wrote a news brief on “Heart Breaking News” for the day. David came to me before bed with tears streaming down his face. “Mom, I just want to see Lucky again…I want to hold her…” I told him that the gift of the Holy Ghost was also a Comforter and it could help him feel peace during this sad time. I explained that Lucky’s spirit still lived, and he would be able to see her again one day. “That will be so long though…do you think I could die and go see her? What about Elijah, what did he do to bring someone back to life? Can I pray and bring her back to life?” he asked. I was at a loss for words. We knelt together and said a prayer. My sweet little David’s heart was broken. He has such a gentle spirit—I think Lucky was a kindred spirit to him. Later that night I prayed to Heavenly Father that he would help this little boy and bring peace to his aching heart.
The next morning David told me he’d had a dream about Lucky. “Mom, I dreamt that Lucky was alive and that I was holding her and loving her. Then I woke up and I was holding my teddy bear.” I asked David if he thought this might be Heavenly Fathers way of letting him know his kitty was ok. “Yeah, I do.” I felt a warm peace fill my heart.
Kimball truly loved this cat too. With no encouragement on our part, Kimball got a box and put the bodies in it. Then he and David dug a hole and put chairs around it. He had our family come outside. He asked us each to take a turn and say something we loved about Lucky and Garfield. Then he had us throw a handful of leaves he’d collected on top of the box. Afterwards everyone who wanted to took a turn filling in the hole. Prior to the ceremony, Kimball made a tombstone out of wood. He decorated the grave with rocks and a fake rose. I was so touched by this. Truly this display by my children was an extension of the love they felt for one of God’s creatures. I think this will always be an experience we will remember because of the genuinely heartfelt emotions we all experienced.
