Farewell Petra: Business Associate, Friend, Cat

Petra, 2003-2015

This is the blog post I knew I'd have to write one day, but dreaded writing.

Last Saturday our cat Petra passed away.

She'd been with us for twelve years, nearly a quarter of my life.

We adopted her from the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in North Melbourne the same week I became a freelance writer, in January 2004.

As a result, I thought of her as my "business associate"; a kind of silent (well, not so silent) partner who did her thing while I was doing mine.

She was also a friend. Our interaction was limited by communication barriers, and by the very different ways our brains worked; but we communicated just the same.

At my desk, in November 2011.

I didn't need to be Doctor Dolittle to figure out what she wanted most of the time (generally summarised as "attention").

Interrupting my packing in April 2015.

For her part she reminded me that life wasn't all about me, and that I should get up from the desk occasionally and do things other than write.

It was partly this mysterious interaction that made me decide to become vegetarian this year; she made me see animals as emotional beings with whom we can connect.

I learned a lot from Petra, and I think she had a good, fulfilling life and knew that she was loved.

She's gone, and she's left a hole in our lives. In my working life, too. The home office seems so still this week.

She's gone, and I miss her so much.