Snowflake Challenge #2

[evandar]

Challenge #2: Pets of Fandom

Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want!

TW: Animal death, grief



When I moved to Vietnam, I left my cats back in England. There were a few reasons for that: their age and comfort, quarantine fees, the lack of a stable environment or even a guarantee that I would stay here for long. One of them, Cassie, also has dietary requirements, and while I've been able to pick up a lot of food-related vocab, "hypoallergenic cat food" is still beyond me.

My mother agreed to take care of them, and she's done an excellent job of it.

But, Death is inevitable.

Bellatrix was very much my cat. I was her person. She was a spicy little nightmare to everyone else in her general vicinity, but me? She'd drape herself over my chest and purr for hours.

In October, she had an aneurism. A blood vessel burst in her spine. She lost feeling in her back legs, but she still tried to break into my old bedroom to be where she felt safest. That's where Mum found her: outside my old bedroom door. She scooped her up, took her to the vet, and phoned me on the way there.

I got to say goodbye. There was nothing the vet could do to save her, so she was put down with me on FaceTime. The first and only movement she made after reaching the vet was when she heard me say her name. She tried to boop Mum's phone with her nose. And then she was gone.

Again, Mum did a fantastic job of managing the aftermath in my absence. Everything from dealing with the pet insurance company to giving Bella a decent burial. I'm not entirely sure how useful I would have been even if I I hadn't been so far away: I certainly wouldn't have been able to save her life. That hasn't stopped me from feeling guilty. I don't think anything ever will. But there's a tiny part of her over here with me now: the vet took a print of her paw as part of a memorial package, and I've had that tattooed on her favourite perch. Right over my heart.

The territorial little critter would be delighted to know that her territory is marked forever.