Saturday, April 4, 2009

A Friend Who Joined Us For a While

Zachariah of the golden eyes came to call in the
night now and then....Millie our ancient black
Oriental, usually so territorial, would go outside
and chat with him.



I put out some dry food for him, he was so scrawny ,
malnourished and had boils but would not let us near.
For weeks he would disappear, then come back again,
until one day our youngest granddaughter, with an
affininity to animals, made friends with him.
For a long time he was an outside cat slowly making
frieds with the two dogs and seven other cats.
He graduated to become a part time housecat, going
walkabout for a few weeks, then returning and picking
up where he had left off. He responded to Zachariah
or Zach for short.



Zachie had the most wonderful amber eyes.
He was wormed, healthy and happy, but one
day he went on his rounds and did not return.
There are foxes and snakes here, and we miss
him so much...
*

29 comments:

  1. Who knows...he may be back. We've had a lot of strays who visit for awhile, then disappear only to re-appear after awhile. He is beautiful with those amber eyes:)

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  2. Sharon,
    it's been more than a year now, we feel he has gone... we still and always miss him though

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  3. Awww - I'm so sorry! Several years back, an F4 tornado hit just north of here. A woman whose house was destroyed in the tornado had a cat that disappeared after the tornado & didn't come home until a year later to the day! So, I hope he comes back home to you - How long ago did he disappear?

    Thank you so much for visiting & commenting on my page & I'll be praying for rain to you all there in Australia!

    I'm going to add your page to my followers list so that I can come back often!

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  4. Oh Arija - that brought tears to my eyes. We had a wonderful tabby called Maxie - so wise, so gentle and (we thought) so street wise. Then one day we lost him and a week later discovered that he had been run over by a lorry - that someone had found him in agony on the road and put him out of his misery. I miss him still but at least we knew his end and that his suffering was not for long. I do hope he comes back your Zach.

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  5. I am sorry for your lose...he is a beauty. Our four leggeds give us so much more than we realize. I have two rescue kitties who are currently being fostered while I am away and I am really missing them....25 days and counting.
    Blessings and smiles

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  6. He is one beautiful cat with amazing eyes! You were lucky to have him in your life.

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  7. A sad story about beautiful Zacharia. Yesterday, when I was snowshoeing alone on my back trails, I kept having the feeling that something was following me. When I turned around to look, I would get a mental picture of my old Golden, dead four years now. Who knows - maybe she had come along, if only in my heart.

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  8. Oh, that is sad! and I know you must miss him. It's amazing how animals can slip into your heart without you knowing it until they are lost and that leaves a hole in your heart. Lovely amber eyes!

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  9. Cats are such wonderful creatures. I'd look at it this way: He picked YOU to spend much of his time with. (You know how cats are!) From a cat's point of view I think that's a pretty high distinction. I'm sure you're in his heart as well :)

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  10. Aww. The last paragraph gave me goosebumps. Oh, this is sad.

    I kept thinking about your comment on my blog.

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  11. I once wrote a poem about my cat Mitsi-teenage stuff- but fitting for Zach
    "Creeping silently
    through the night
    ears alert
    eyes so bright
    looking round
    no fear,no fright
    the little black cat
    with eyes so bright"

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  12. Beautiful cat Zach. What a pity he didn't return to you, but at least he knew he would have been welcome. I can understand that you miss him still. I have a fridge magnet that reads "cats leave paw prints on your heart" and I think it is true.

    Lovely to read about him. A x

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  13. Oh what a beautiful cat! It is amazing how kids have a special way with animals indeed. As for him not returning, you must always imagine that he knew what he was doing. I know this is hard for us to hear because we tremendously miss them, but their spirit has a destiny too. I am sure wherever he went, he is happy now too. I know that does not take away the feeling of loss, but perhaps can add a bit of comfort that all these things that we do not understand at the surface, have a greater meaning in the grander scheme.

    Thank you for sharing the beautiful photos!

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  14. I'm sorry that Zachariah disappeared. He certainly did have interesting eyes.

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  15. awe, I'm sorry Arija... animals leave empty spots in our hearts when they leave... they sometimes seem to have a strong call to go off...

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  16. Arija, Zach was a gift, what a beauty. Black cats being my favorite. I am glad you have other pets around to help console. I can certainly empathise with your loss.

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  17. His eyes have a wonderful, unearthly quality about them.

    Our Muffin disappeared like that one day, too, and never came back, about 20 years ago. He was the best cat and we dearly missed him.

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  18. This is a beautiful post Arija..He sounds like he was a beautiful kitty soul...Michelle

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  19. Dear Arija, thank you for your many visits and comments to my blog! I apologize for not showing up for some time but I had so little time to visit during the last few weeks. Now I'm enjoying one week off and I'm so happy!!
    I just caught up with your last posts and enjoyed them very much. The beautiful roses, the gallaghs, the bats (!!!) and ibisses impressed me most, and I can understand your feelings about your amber eyed cat Zacharia. I's so sorry that he disappeared.
    Have a nice weekend adead! Hugs, Maria

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  20. I gues 'ya silly Galah' could mean "verrückted Huhn" in German? :)

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  21. Two cats come to my garden frequently. I don't know why. They sit there for a long time.Perhaps there is a herb there that attracts them. See the photos here

    http://annkschin.blogspot.com/2009/01/feline-friend.html

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  22. Sad indeed. He is waiting for his friends on the other side of the rainbow bridge.

    I never thought I would like cats, especially black ones, and for sure those black ones who would bite me, but...

    Our daughter has one and she and our grandchild moved back in with us and brought "Baby Kitty" with them and we are best freinds now.

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  23. Hi,
    guardando la foto del tuo gatto mi sembra di rivedere il mio gatto che ora non ho più.-
    Molto dolce e dalla foto sento tutta la sua silenziosità nel circoscrivere il giardino.-
    Buon fine settimana.-

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  24. How awful to lose a pet! I know all about it! I am sorry to give the impression that it was my family I wrote about. My daughter sent me the story more than a year ago, but it is exactly what we always feel when we say good bye. My daughter is coming with her family in September, so I have still sometime to look forward to seeing her. Thanks anyway for your kind comment. Have a great day!

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  25. I cannot imagine the pain of not knowing. My heart breaks at the thought. Sending love and prayers your way.

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  26. Perhaps Zack went walkabout and someone else took him in? I will hold positive thoughts that he's safe and happy. My black cat, Middy is a wonderful friend, I can't imagine her leaving. I would be devastated.

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  27. So sorry. I hope he surprises you and returns.

    Paz

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  28. There is deep mystery in those huge amber eyes, hopefully he is still watching over you.

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  29. I hope he's okay and will return. My Ms Kitty adopted ME about 12 years ago and looks similar ;--)
    Hugs and blessings,

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