Goodbye, Salem

Salem, named after the town where the witch trials of 1692 were held because she was black and therefore a witch's cat, went missing yesterday morning. We searched the surrounding area, calling her name, asking fellow neighbours if they'd seen her and even printing flyers to put in postboxes. It has been 36 hours of hell.This evening we received a phone call from a neighbour to say that he was very sorry but he'd found Salem's little body in his backyard yesterday and he had subsequently buried her.

While we are grateful for the closure, and the forfeiture of wondering where she was each day, if she cold or had enough to eat, the news came as a blow. Everyone has hope that the worst possible outcome may not be the actual outcome. We are devastated, and I hope this pain eases over the coming days. Our cats are our children.

We adopted Salem from the SPCA in March 2012. She was already 5 months old then, and because she was not the cutesy kitten anymore, people overlooked her and went for a younger kitten. We adopted Ninja at the same time so they would have each other for company, and we can easily say they had the sibling relationship of humans. They fought and bit each other, but let the other cats know that only they were allowed to interact with each other in that manner. They protected, loved and slept next to each other. Where one was the other was not far away. Salem and I formed a special bond during the two years I was at home. She became an extension of my shadow, and we'd spend hours together. I would study and she would sleep on my lap. When I returned to work this year, I missed her during business hours but always looked forward to going home and seeing her.

William and I joked that Salem was a new spirit to the world, in that she found everything so fascinating. From the birds, to the trees to toys to chasing the other cats - she was full of life and happiness. She could also be a real madam at times, when she sat on the coffee table and swatted any other cat that happened to pass by. These were her "Queen Bee" traits.

Salem - we are going to miss you terribly but know that you will always be in our hearts. Our time together was too short, but I am thankful that we had time at all. Some of our fondest memories of you include the following:

• Drinking water straight from the bathroom tap (trying to get the right water pressure was a task in itself);
• Kneading my gown, and purring so much you would almost throw up;
• Digging in my make up box to fish out my hair elastics which would then lay strewn throughout the house;
• Demanding belly rubs by laying face up on whatever surface was in front of me; and
• How affectionate you were. You would rub yourself along the walls, doors and anything else you could find, purring all the while.

Go well our feline family member, thank you for the memories.

xxx

After some milk

With her brother, Ninja

In the snow, August 2012

Queen Bee moment