Domino

The call came from my sister in-law in the Summer of 1993. A family was moving and couldn't take their cat. Were we interested in adopting a cat? You bet we were! I have been a cat lover all my life. Since moving from an apartment to a house in March, Amanda had been begging for a cat. We wasted no time driving to the family's home in Kennesaw to meet Domino. She was clean and well cared for, pretty with bright green eyes. True to her name, her coat was black and white. The famly had selected her from a litter of kittens at the Big Chicken in December 1990, so she was almost 3 years old. After loading her and all of her "things" into my car, it was off to pickup Amanda and present her with a BIG surprise!

Amanda was thrilled. She immediately took to Domino and we headed home. For the hour or so drive, Domino roamed around the car howling and meowing - she was a bit freaked out, as to be expected. At home, we kept Domino inside for about 3 weeks. This was to try to get her well accomodated and lessen the possibility that she would roam. Finally the day came for her to go outdoors. She loved it. She ran all around the yard, darting here and there. She kept circling farther and farther from the house, and eventually went out of sight. Amanda was beside herself with fear. Would Domino come back? Would she run away? Would she get hurt? Bedtime came and went, but no Domino. With great difficulty, I finally got Amanda to sleep with the promise that I would wake her up if Domino came home.

Around midnight we heard cats outside. Opening the front door, I saw 2 black and white cats on the front porch, facing each other, backs arched, both growling. The problem was, I couldn't tell which one was Domino! We picked them both up and brought them inside. In the light, we were able to tell them apart. We put the other cat back out and I ran upstairs to tell Amanda that Domino was home safe and sound. The smile on Amanda's face was radiant. I placed Domino on Amanda's bed and they went to sleep.

Amanda entered Kindergarten in the Fall. She was in Mrs. Harris' class, and one of the highlights of the year was pet day. Amanda wanted me to bring Domino. On the appointed day, I placed Domino in a cardboard box and we drove the 2 miles to school. Carrying Domino in that box was tricky. She definately didn't want to be in the box, and was expending all possible energy to escape. I made my way as quickly as I could to Amanda's classroom and let Domino escape from the box. Now she was faced with a room full of 5 year olds - she was truely freaked out! She ran up the bookshelves to the highest place in the room and sat there glaring down at us all. Mrs. Harris asked Amanda some questions about Domino and the children watched her for a few minutes, then it was time for us to leave. I managed to get Domino back in the box and practically ran to the car. She was clawing and biting and howling, trying to get out. I barely made it back to the car before the box split open. I got her back home and she settled down. That was the last time I took her in the car without a proper pet carrier.

One night I came home late from work, in the days when I still wore panty hose and pumps. As I got out of my car, I saw Domino in the shadows fighting with another cat. I grabbed a broom and tried to seperate the cats. They started running through the yard and woods, still fighting. I gave chase, all the while trying to seperate them with the broom. Finally the cats got enough of it all and parted company, each going their own way. Panting, with ruined panyhose and muddy pumps, I limped back to the house, dragging the broom behind. As I neared the front door I looked up and saw Domino - inside the house. There she sat on the windo sill just watching everything going on outside. It was then that it occured to me just how many black and white cats there are in the world. I had just gone through considerable effort and sweat chasing 2 black and white cats around in the dark, and neither one was mine!

The maddest I've ever seen Domino was the day of the strawberry bath. Will was around 3 years old and wanted a bubble bath. At that age, he called her "Minomino", and liked to eat and drink from her dises in the kitchen. Anyway, I prepared the bath with an extra dose of bubble bath. The bubbles mounded up a good 1-2 feet above the rim of the tub. Quick as a wink, Will grabbed Domino and tossed her into the frothy mix. Like a bullet, she flew back out and ran as far away as possible. Soaking wet, she hid behind the couch in the den. She was a sight, all wet and bubbly and really ticked off! I took a picture of her and will try to find it.

Another funny Domino story is when we could hear her but we couldn't find her. It was really odd, and sounded like her meows were coming from the vents in the house. We had recently had some construction work done, and in the process the vent covers were removed for a few days. I was convinced that she had found an open vent and crawled into the duct work. It sounded like she was in the duct work under the floor in my bathroom. So Michael took a saw and cut through the floor and duct work to rescue her. After cutting a gaping hole in the floor we were disappointed when we found she was not in there. Although both Amanda and Michael had already checked the crawl space, I decided to go check it one more time. I opened the door and there she was. Domino just sat there and stared at me and let out a tiny little "meow". Then she calmly walked out of the crawl space as if nothing had happened.

At around 12 years old, Domino started having arthritic problems. It got harder for her to clean herself, and Amanda started giving her special medicine every day. We started bathing her in the bathtub since she couldn't clean herself very well. We had to hold her in the water - it took 2 of us to bathe her. After her bath, Amanda would wrap her in a towel and blow dry her hair. Domino was slowing down.

Last night, Amanda came in from the garage with tears in her eyes. She said something was wrong with Domino. I asked what was wrong and she said "I think she's dying". We put Domino on a towel and into a plastic crate and broght her in the house. She was very limp and unresponsive. I put the crate on Amanda's bed and left the two of them to be alone for awhile. Later, Amanda asked me if I would be with Domino, she just couldn't handle it. I put Domino next to me on my bed and slept beside her, my hand always touching her. I kept waking up and fearing the worst, only to see Domino still breathing, lying next to me.

At around 2:30 this morning I woke up and checked on Domino. She had pulled her little body over closer to me so that her head was on my pillow. She wasn't breathing anymore. The end had come. Her little lifeless body was cold.

Farewell Domino, we miss you. We are grateful for the many years of friendship and fun you gave our family. I know Amanda will have other pets, but there will never be one like Domino. From Kindergarten through High School graduation they were best buds.