“Abner” Bishop

ABNER 2•21•2008~3•20•2026
I have often thought that overwhelming sadness comes in waves, much like a storm far out at sea, growing darker by the hour but gaining intensity with each moment that passes. Eventually the angry waves reach the shore, crashing wildly with their ominous destructive ability, creating havoc, all the while rearranging the shoreline, before reluctantly retreating.
Only then do the clouds start to part and hopefully the sun peaks out again.  I felt this sadness with the loss of my parents in ‘21 & ‘24. A dark nagging sadness that was both overwhelming and heartbreaking. Most of my days are still partly cloudy but I feel the warmth of the sun struggling to peak through…and now THIS…
Abner’s storied life of 18 years and 1 month came to a sad ending on Friday the 20th of March. It had been a day filled with the anticipation of Spring’s arrival after a long arduous winter. It was never meant to be Abner’s last day in the house he was born into 18 years ago on a bitter cold February night.
His mom showed up on our porch, very young and very pregnant. I took her upstairs to the warmest room in the house and made her a soft bed. As I lay on the floor, stroking her soft fur and holding her paw,  we both drifted off. At midnight she cried out loudly and Abner was born! At 4am, she only whimpered and his little sister Bootsie was born! I named our little mom Gracie, telling her she was filled with Grace. So, on that bitter cold night 18 yrs ago , our family grew by 3, we were so blessed and excited! They all thrived in their new indoor environment filled with love, warmth, and acceptance.
Abner was a HOO through and through, proudly wearing his UVA collar with a bell. It wasn’t a loud bell, just enough to let us know where he was…well, most of the time. He did like to stalk little black Emmy for pleasure but the bell seemed to help even as the chase ensued throughout the house! We kept reminding him-Black Cats Matter too!
His highest achievement however, came when he and  Bootsie became Home Health Entertainers to the Elderly, a position they grew to love.
First came the trips, short in the beginning then longer, and finally we ended up staying with the parents, who, in their mid 90s, still lived alone in their own home! These two did their very best every day to make Mom & Dad smile and laugh, lifting everyone’s spirits, especially mine, as I became totally overwhelmed in my role of singular caregiver to parents  approaching 100!
Abner was quite vocal all of his life and enjoyed having a lively conversation, especially at mealtime, his favorite time of day. His passion, singing for his supper, became my daily amusement.
However, approaching the new year his appetite slowed and his once solid muscular body began to morph into an almost unrecognizable version of his former self. Sadly the process was swift following a January diagnosis of a tumor pressing on his lung and abdomen. Breathing and eating became a struggle. Walking briskly became a slow calculated wobble, barely keeping his balance. He soon realized the staircase was tricky, restricting his territory to only one floor now, and finally to just one room during the final weeks. Ironically it was the room where he first opened his eyes to a great big new world of wonder and excitement. Now it was his personal ICU with a litter box close by and his soft cat bed, with several water bowls. I offered hand feeding of puréed foods, multiple times a day, an effort on my part to boost his failing stamina and ever growing weakness. Everyday he ate less and less and finally refused it all, but still tried to drink the water.
He bravely fought each daily battle only to ultimately lose the war to the cancer raging in his frail little body. I saw the pain in his eyes, and his once happy sing song voice became but a whisper and then…no voice at all. The time had come…
Sadly the first day of Spring became Abner’s very last day on earth an a furry ambassador of love, laughter, and pure joy that he gave so freely wherever it was appreciated and needed the most!
As pets in the home often do, they each came by and paid their respects, honoring the sweet boy that made this house a happy home for 18 years. Now he’s passed torch!

Leo Dworken once said, No amount of time can erase the memory of a Good Cat!
Fly high Little Buddy, I’ll see you at The Bridge