When Kody and I separated, I took care of all of the animals including Kody’s cat, Angua. This was always intended as a temporary arrangement. He was living in a trailer at his sister’s house and couldn’t have his cat there. Although we got her as a kitten together, she was always his cat more than mine. She would always choose his lap to lay on if there was a choice. She would spend hours with him when he was depressed, providing her own brand of animal therapy. I always joked that right after he left the house we shared, she blamed me for scaring him off. When he came over, she’d be all over him again.

As the time stretched on, he still was unable to have her in his life. Even after he moved into an apartment, he said that she had bonded with me more now and that she would be better off with me. That probably should have been a warning sign for me, but there was logic in what he said. Cats hate disruption in their routines. I am glad in the end that she didn’t go with Kody, mainly because I worry about what would have happened during the almost week he was missing, when she would have been alone and scared.

Since his death, Angua has bonded to me more strongly than she ever has before. As I write this, she is trying to share my lap with my laptop and her face is pushed up against my pinky as I type. She always seems to know when I am most in need of her assistance. On days where I am feeling sad, she crawls up beside me with meows and purrs. When I am writing my blogs, she considers this personal Nyasha and Angua time.

She provides me with her animal therapy the way that she once provided him with it. She lays on my chest the way she always laid on his and purrs as loudly as she can. His cat seems to me to contain just a bit of him in her. I see a lot of the good qualities of Kody in her. She is always there to talk to and to lean on for support. She has a goofy side that she only shows to those who know her best. At the same time she is her own cat. Kody raised her as his little princess and she knows it.

He always described her as majestic. Which is an apt description for such a beautiful animal. Her completely jet black fur is incredibly shiny and her Halloween cat eyes glow like two perfect yellow orange moons. I am glad that I ended up with Angua even though that was never the intention. She has been a great help to me over the last year. She provides me with animal therapy that makes a huge difference in my life.