“The grief of losing a pet is acute yet inevitable. This book is dedicated to all those beloved, precious, wonderful kitties (and a dog) who are no longer with us, and to their people who made their world a better place.” —Cat’s Paw, Dedication.

I dedicated my recent book, Cat’s Paw, to those who have crossed Beyond. There are 73 names on the list; 73 adored, cherished darlings; 73 furry soulmates; 73 amazing balls of self-contained energy we knew as “life”.

Where is that life now, that persevering energy? Science tells our minds that nothing is lost; faith tells our hearts the same thing. Still, once those babies have crossed the Rainbow Bridge, it will be a long, lonely time until we see them again.

It has been a privilege to transcribe these 73 names into the dedication for Cat’s Paw. I hope seeing their names in print brings some sense of relief to their people. The list is far from complete: even if there were 73,000 names, it couldn’t include all the pets we have lost. Each of those losses was wrought with heart-wrenching grief, yet we dry our tears, buck up, and go out to adopt again, knowing it begins the cycle once more.

Why?

Because we are awesome! We are the caregivers, the cat people, the moms and dads. We are the defenders and the speakers for those who cannot speak for themselves. We are the providers, the spoilers, the entertainers for our sweet cats. They bring us an irreplaceable love that, once experienced, we find it hard to live without. We need them and they need us.

Especially awesome are those who adopt the old, frail, and ill. They know the secret: Cats will be cats until the day they die, despite age and illness, sitting on our laps, head-butting our shins, giving us blinks of love.

Whatever the age, whatever the backstory, for humans who love cats, cats are necessary, are family. But their time on earth is brief. Care for them like treasure. Remember them when they are gone.

Thank you again to those who participated and to those who read the names. You can order your copy of Cat’s Paw, The 3rd Crazy Cat Lady Cozy Mystery for kindle or in print here.