by Shirley Pedersen
December 11, 2002
This is the day Grover died.
Grover was an 18-year-old cat that had lived an extraordinary life. Coming to Renee as a kitten in 1984 without designation as a male or female, the cat with blue-gray fur and an incredibly pink nose was named Grover, of Sesame Street fame.
It turned out Grover was a girl and became the excellent mom of five kittens, a one time event. Grover lived most of her life outside. She was a proven hunter and kept our barn free of mice, not to mention the three adjoining properties.
We did receive one complaint about her domination of the area. A neighbor called and said she had been chasing their male cat out of the garage and eating his food. She also had staked out territory under their bird feeder and was too successful for their liking. Since the neighbor and I agreed there was no way to keep Grover in, she was given permission to make her yard a less agreeable place by chasing Grover out or spraying her with the garden hose. Grover, being raised with impeccable manners, and being a quick study on places she was less than welcome, did not bother the neighbor again.
Grover was around 11 or 12 when our niece Dana asked us if we wanted a kitten. They had several kittens that had been raised around dogs. We had tried to get two kittens at the same time, as they tended to stay at home. We got two males, Murphy and Mike. We had thought that Grover could train them to hunt and show them around, so we put them in the barn with her. She didn’t want to have anything to do with them and promptly beat it into their minds to steer clear of her.
Kittens have a way of growing up and the “boys” turned out to be twice as big as she was with good memories of past tortures. She was no match for both of them, so she became an indoor cat. She seemed to love the idea and with the exception of an occasional escape and romp across the roof, was content to live the easy life.
Renee had moved to Alaska and was starting her second year there in her own “bait shop” turned rental cabin. Grover was her natural choice to take along to be her family as Randi Anne could not be trusted. When Renee flew back to Alaska the cat was to go along. She had arranged with the airline to take her onboard and paid the extra money. We had been to the vet and gotten the medicine to help her reduce her anxiety while traveling. True to her nature, when the day of departure came the cat yowled all the way to DIA, ignoring the effects of the medicine. Renee stated she did not want to take her on the 20-hour flight. I stated she either took Grover with her or we would leave the cat at the airport. In those days, we could escort Renee to the departure gate and wait with her until the flight left. Grover yowled the entire time and we were all concerned, but I remained firm about the cat going to Alaska.
Renee was so relieved when she got seated on the plane and Grover did not make a sound during the entire flight. Thus started Grover’s incredible journey and life saving presence in the great state of Alaska. We are sure the cat thought Alaska was paradise as she feasted on fresh salmon and halibut. She earned the reputation as a guard cat, warning Renee of danger from a baby moose on the front porch to bears in the front yard. Grover was the best companion Renee could have had. She also taught Renee to love cats as much as dogs.
Renee then returned to Colorado and kept Grover with her. Michelle saved a tiny baby kitten abandoned by his mother. Since Michelle has incredible allergies to cats, it wasn’t rocket science to figure out where this tiny, tiny kitten would live.
It turned out that Grover was happiest as an only cat, (flash back to Mike and Murphy). When Renee moved to Tucson, Grover came back to live with us.
Two of my favorite memories are the way Grover used to sit outside our guest room when my mom was staying with us and yell “Hello” in her cat dialect until my mom would answer. Also one morning I was in the kitchen talking to myself and I said “Should I feed the cat before we eat?”, a resounding “Yeah” in kitty speak came as the response!!
Now back to the morning of December 11th after I had found that dear sweet Grover had died during the night. Larry and I were in our pasture to bury Grover in a place of honor. We are keeping our neighbors horses while they are building a barn. One of the horses is a paint mare that is so curious it is ridiculous. She was two inches from us the whole time. I happened to catch her gaze across the neighbor’s pasture to the north. When I looked up, I saw a rather funny looking horse staring back at us. I commented about it, but Larry kept on digging and we finished placing our dear sweet Grover in her final resting-place.
We returned to the house and about ten minutes later Larry exclaimed as he looked out our kitchen window to the east, “There is a MOOSE in the neighbor’s yard!!” We both got in the truck and drove over to take pictures. Sure enough it was a yearling female moose, obviously far from home. She had come to escort Grover’s spirit!!
We are so amazingly blessed when we leave our hearts open to miracles. What should have been a very sad occasion was a reaffirmation of God’s love and caring ALWAYS being with us. Thank you God for your wonderful love and thank you Grover for your wonderful life. Rest in Peace. Amen.