There are many jokes on the internet about introverts who at a party seek out the cat of the house. Kody was that person. He was always especially attached to cats and in his life, cats played a major role. From the time when Kody was little, there were cats in his life. In our house together, we had three cats and each one of them preferred Kody to me. As I consider myself and Animal Person with the capitals and everything, this really means something. Most of my memories after loss seem to attach Kody to cats.
No matter where Kody was, he was always able to find cats. I remember when we were on a tour of Dun Aengus in Ireland, I briefly lost Kody in the crowd and soon found him petting a random cat that was perched up on a rock wall near the outdoor eating establishment we had stopped at. This was so Kody. On vacation in Ireland he befriended not only that cat, but one down the path by the bay and another at a local shop.
He always had a special bond with any cat that he met. In my head I always called him the cat whisperer. When I said it to his face, his eyes would crinkle in that true smile and he would laugh a real laugh. Cats made Kody happy in a way that nothing else ever could. I definitely like cats, but I just don’t have the way with him that Kody did.
I’m pretty sure that when Kody moved out, my cats blamed me for it and shunned me for it for several weeks. They missed that bond. Even when he visited them later, they seemed to count it as my fault when he went away again. As an Animal Person, I definitely take this personally. But couldn’t resent them for it as Kody was just such the cat person of the family. I understood their loss.
The memories after loss that seem to follow me include him sitting for his morning coffee surrounded by a cat or two. There is even a file on his computer dedicated to cat pictures. Honestly the pictures in this file include some of the happier ones I’ve seen of Kody himself. I don’t exactly believe in a heaven. But I do like to imagine that wherever Kody is now he has a parade of cats following him.
I’m reminded of all the sad and neglected kitties I met while volunteering at Purrfect Pals. I like to imagine that Kody has taken them all under his wing. In some world after death, he sits drinking coffee. Surrounded by all the kitties that never got to experience the love of a human. For him this would be heaven.