Two weeks ago Loki left this world, and today his brother Baldur followed him. Poor Baldur had been blind for some time and was losing strength in his hind legs. I've watched him decline for some time, but after seeing him fall down the basement stairs and be unable to climb back up - I knew it was time to end his struggle.
Years ago I had two black cats, a male and female I called Loki and Lillith. Loki was a sweetie but was hit by a car at a young age. When I decided to adopt another pair of black cats, both male, I wanted to use the name Loki again - and decided to name his brother Baldur. In Norse myth, Baldur was the god of Love and Loki the god of Mischief. While they weren't related, they fit the common mythological construct of the good twin/evil twin. Oddly enough Loki the cat was a little devil - proud, tough, great hunter, not very companionable - while Baldur the cat was a little lover - sweet, gentle and cuddly. So often my cats have grown to fit their names.
Baldur quickly became my favorite, but he had a star-crossed life. We had a puppy that was a little crazy - and she nipped at Baldur one day, and took away a tiny piece of his ear. The simplest way to tell Loki and Baldur apart was to check their ears. Balder had this tooth-shaped notch in the tip of his left ear. Of course I could tell them apart just by looking - Loki had sharp features and a chunkier build. Baldur had a soft, pouty face, and was sleeker looking.
When he was young, I had to travel to India. My daughter's father came over to our house to stay with her and keep an eye on things. I left plenty of food for our menagerie, including extra bags of cat and dog food in the garage. Unfortunately, my ex decided that rather than go into the garage for more cat food, he'd just feed the cats dog food. Shortly after I got home, Baldur became extremely ill and had to be rushed to the emergency clinic, where he was diagnosed with kidney failure. It was touch and go, but he recovered and came home to resume his sweet, loving ways.
A couple of years after that we moved into a new house. At the time we had 5 cats. They had been kept indoors, but since I now had a large yard away from busy streets, I figured I'd let them go outside. I installed a cat panel in the sliding glass door, so they could come and go as they liked. I was very busy at the time, and probably not paying attention as I should, but one day I realized that I hadn't seen Baldur for a while. I would call him as I walked around the neighborhood - but he didn't come back. After a couple of months I decided that he was gone forever, and resigned myself to the loss. Time passed and I was offered a job in Paris, which I accepted. Now I was busy wrapping things up with the job I was working on and preparing to move. I came home one evening, parked the car in the driveway, and walked out to the mailbox. I heard a cat call, and looked around. On the roof of the neighbor's house was a black cat, calling for help. My first thought was that silly Loki had got himself stuck. I went into the garage and got a stepladder, took it over to the neighbors house, climbed up and reached out to the cat. "Come here sweetie, I'll get you down." The cat came readily, I grabbed hold of him, and climbed back down the stepladder. But the cat wasn't Loki, it was Baldur. He had been gone for more than a year and now - only weeks before our permanent departure - had returned, just like the prodigle son. I was ecstatic.
Baldur went with us to Paris and then moved with us to Virginia. His life in those days was fairly uneventful. Of course, he was an indoor cat again, so couldn't disappear, but he seemed content to lie in my lap or cuddle up next to me at night. Then we moved to Ohio. The day I took possession of my house I drove from Virginia to Ohio with five cats and a bunch of houseplants. Eight hours in the car was torture - and I was relieved after the signing to take my new keys and go to my new house. I opened the garage, drove inside, closed the door, and then carefully brought all the cats into the basement. Once everyone was safe inside, I went back to the garage and went to the market to get some groceries. I remember distinctly seeing Baldur standing by the basement stairs watching me.
When I got back from the grocery store, I couldn't find any of the cats except Loki, who, in his usual bold style, was prowling around the house checking everything out. I finally found one cat hiding behind the fridge and my youngest hiding under the basement stairs, but I couldn't find the fourth cat, and I couldn't find Baldur. I was devastated. I searched for house, and finally succumbed to exhaustion. When I woke in the morning I resumed the search. But frankly, there aren't that many hiding places in an empty house - and I was absolutely certain they couldn't have gotten out. I finally had to leave to pick up the moving truck and go back to Virginia to load my possessions.
That was the middle of October. I walked around the neighborhood and searched the classified ads, but finally concluded that the two missing cats were gone. On New Years Day morning I was standing in by bedroom, looking out the window at the street, and I saw a black cat run across the street. It was Baldur! I ran downstairs and out the front door - barefoot and in my nightgown - and started calling him. He paused and turned, then mewed, as if to say "Do you know me?" I sat down on a little wall and called him again. He came towards me slowly, not sure who I was, but finally I coaxed him in range. I grabbed him up and quickly checked the ear. There was the notch -identification confirmed. I ran back in the house, tears streaming down my face: my beloved Baldur was back again. He was very thin and ragged looking, but he was okay. I don't know how he survived those 3 months - but I was really glad to see him again. And he was delighted to be home at last. From that day onward he didn't stray far from home. Of course, he was getting older, but he seemed to really enjoy lying on a large stone in the backyard in the sun. And at night he'd crawl under the covers and snuggle up to me. Always my cuddle kitty.
I wrote before about his decline. And now that Loki is gone it's become harder and harder to watch him struggle. So I've decided to let him go. He and Loki will share a grave in the backyard, close to Baldur's favorite rock, I've never buried a pet before, but my black twins are very special to me. I will really miss them both. And to my beloved Baldur: goodnight sweet prince.
Years ago I had two black cats, a male and female I called Loki and Lillith. Loki was a sweetie but was hit by a car at a young age. When I decided to adopt another pair of black cats, both male, I wanted to use the name Loki again - and decided to name his brother Baldur. In Norse myth, Baldur was the god of Love and Loki the god of Mischief. While they weren't related, they fit the common mythological construct of the good twin/evil twin. Oddly enough Loki the cat was a little devil - proud, tough, great hunter, not very companionable - while Baldur the cat was a little lover - sweet, gentle and cuddly. So often my cats have grown to fit their names.
Baldur quickly became my favorite, but he had a star-crossed life. We had a puppy that was a little crazy - and she nipped at Baldur one day, and took away a tiny piece of his ear. The simplest way to tell Loki and Baldur apart was to check their ears. Balder had this tooth-shaped notch in the tip of his left ear. Of course I could tell them apart just by looking - Loki had sharp features and a chunkier build. Baldur had a soft, pouty face, and was sleeker looking.
When he was young, I had to travel to India. My daughter's father came over to our house to stay with her and keep an eye on things. I left plenty of food for our menagerie, including extra bags of cat and dog food in the garage. Unfortunately, my ex decided that rather than go into the garage for more cat food, he'd just feed the cats dog food. Shortly after I got home, Baldur became extremely ill and had to be rushed to the emergency clinic, where he was diagnosed with kidney failure. It was touch and go, but he recovered and came home to resume his sweet, loving ways.
A couple of years after that we moved into a new house. At the time we had 5 cats. They had been kept indoors, but since I now had a large yard away from busy streets, I figured I'd let them go outside. I installed a cat panel in the sliding glass door, so they could come and go as they liked. I was very busy at the time, and probably not paying attention as I should, but one day I realized that I hadn't seen Baldur for a while. I would call him as I walked around the neighborhood - but he didn't come back. After a couple of months I decided that he was gone forever, and resigned myself to the loss. Time passed and I was offered a job in Paris, which I accepted. Now I was busy wrapping things up with the job I was working on and preparing to move. I came home one evening, parked the car in the driveway, and walked out to the mailbox. I heard a cat call, and looked around. On the roof of the neighbor's house was a black cat, calling for help. My first thought was that silly Loki had got himself stuck. I went into the garage and got a stepladder, took it over to the neighbors house, climbed up and reached out to the cat. "Come here sweetie, I'll get you down." The cat came readily, I grabbed hold of him, and climbed back down the stepladder. But the cat wasn't Loki, it was Baldur. He had been gone for more than a year and now - only weeks before our permanent departure - had returned, just like the prodigle son. I was ecstatic.
Baldur went with us to Paris and then moved with us to Virginia. His life in those days was fairly uneventful. Of course, he was an indoor cat again, so couldn't disappear, but he seemed content to lie in my lap or cuddle up next to me at night. Then we moved to Ohio. The day I took possession of my house I drove from Virginia to Ohio with five cats and a bunch of houseplants. Eight hours in the car was torture - and I was relieved after the signing to take my new keys and go to my new house. I opened the garage, drove inside, closed the door, and then carefully brought all the cats into the basement. Once everyone was safe inside, I went back to the garage and went to the market to get some groceries. I remember distinctly seeing Baldur standing by the basement stairs watching me.
When I got back from the grocery store, I couldn't find any of the cats except Loki, who, in his usual bold style, was prowling around the house checking everything out. I finally found one cat hiding behind the fridge and my youngest hiding under the basement stairs, but I couldn't find the fourth cat, and I couldn't find Baldur. I was devastated. I searched for house, and finally succumbed to exhaustion. When I woke in the morning I resumed the search. But frankly, there aren't that many hiding places in an empty house - and I was absolutely certain they couldn't have gotten out. I finally had to leave to pick up the moving truck and go back to Virginia to load my possessions.
That was the middle of October. I walked around the neighborhood and searched the classified ads, but finally concluded that the two missing cats were gone. On New Years Day morning I was standing in by bedroom, looking out the window at the street, and I saw a black cat run across the street. It was Baldur! I ran downstairs and out the front door - barefoot and in my nightgown - and started calling him. He paused and turned, then mewed, as if to say "Do you know me?" I sat down on a little wall and called him again. He came towards me slowly, not sure who I was, but finally I coaxed him in range. I grabbed him up and quickly checked the ear. There was the notch -identification confirmed. I ran back in the house, tears streaming down my face: my beloved Baldur was back again. He was very thin and ragged looking, but he was okay. I don't know how he survived those 3 months - but I was really glad to see him again. And he was delighted to be home at last. From that day onward he didn't stray far from home. Of course, he was getting older, but he seemed to really enjoy lying on a large stone in the backyard in the sun. And at night he'd crawl under the covers and snuggle up to me. Always my cuddle kitty.
I wrote before about his decline. And now that Loki is gone it's become harder and harder to watch him struggle. So I've decided to let him go. He and Loki will share a grave in the backyard, close to Baldur's favorite rock, I've never buried a pet before, but my black twins are very special to me. I will really miss them both. And to my beloved Baldur: goodnight sweet prince.
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