12/07/2022
I lost a friend last night. It is never easy saying goodbye to your pets, but it is one of the reasons I feel so lucky getting to paint all of the fluffy friends that get sent my way.
This was the first pet-portrait I did, of my beautiful, cuddly, dorky, noisy cat Charlie. I adopted her from a friend who couldn’t take her in due to other pets in the house, she was 9 or 10 years old. She was shaved completely bald and very skinny, which broke my heart.
Despite being mistreated in the past she immediately trusted me and everyone who met her. She was so unlike most cats I’ve met who take a long time to warm up, Charles was already warm. She stayed glued to my side for the next 3 years, while I moved in with my boyfriend and moved into a new apartment. We fattened her up with her favourite food, the crap stuff. I tried giving her fancy food but she refused. She loved sitting on the balcony and putting her paws over the edge, which scared my boyfriend. She would sit on his lap while he played games and sleep on his chest while he slept. Charlie went from being my cat to being our cat, and it was lovely.
Then I got pregnant and Charlie became extremely protective of me. Lucky for her I was in bed most of the day, so we snuggled for as long as we could. When I went into labour, she knew before I did. She got these crazy eyes and started running around the house, chirping. Following me. Being so annoying (in her defence, everything is annoying at 40 weeks pregnant).
I was worried about how Charles would react to a baby, but after she got used to the crying and the new-ness, Charlie loved the baby and always stayed close. Tried to cuddle her while she slept (which we prevented, lol) and would always sit just close enough to be “pet” by a flailing baby hand. As our baby got older and learned to crawl, Charlie got more involved. Baby would roll and scoot and work her way to Charlie, Charlie would purr and let the baby pet her and, on one occasion, bite her tail.
Nothing could make me happier than my two little people getting along so well.
That is how I will remember Charlie. As my friend and my family. I am so lucky to have cared for her until the end of her life.