The Day a Cat Was Born in Heaven. What Marco Taught Me.

Do you also have a family member you can never forget?
I do.
His name is Marco.
He was a cat who stayed with me for 21 years.

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Meeting My Cat

That was in 2001, the year I joined my last company.

I was still young, and I had met up with friends in a busy district of Osaka to go out for drinks. (I was a super impressive drinker even back then. I'm currently abstaining from alcohol.)

On my way from Hankyu Umeda Station to the meeting spot, I heard a cat meowing somewhere.

It was meowing desperately, but that was definitely not a place where a cat would be.

It was a neon-lit, bustling nightlife district filled with touts, girls waiting to be picked up, and guys looking to pick someone up.

Moreover, at the time, the Osaka Kita area was in the middle of development, with construction going on everywhere.

It wasn't a place for a cat to be.

Though I was a bit concerned, I was worried about my meeting time, so I headed to the meeting spot as planned,

and had a great time with three close friends, drinking, eating delicious food, and catching up as usual.

However, even while drinking, I couldn't stop worrying about the cat's meowing I had heard earlier, so I took the plunge and asked my friends to go look for it with me.

When the three of us went to the area where the meowing had come from, it was still meowing!

It had been about two hours since then, and it had been meowing the whole time.

Where?
Where is it meowing from?

A construction site a little further away seemed suspicious; there were pipes stacked up there, creating a small space,

When I peered in, there it was.

A tiny, tiny kitten was sitting there, crying desperately, meowing away. Its face looked completely terrified, as if it were saying, 'I'm so scared, I'm so scared.' It really had a face like that. That's how it looked to me.

If it stayed in a place like that, it would definitely die!!!

Before I knew it, I was reaching out my arms desperately and pulling the kitten out.

That was Marco.

The friend I was with at the time gave it a name right there on the spot.

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Peeed on my Vuitton

At the time, I was carrying a deep, sturdy leather tote bag, so I took out all my things like my makeup pouch and wallet, put Marco inside, and brought him home.

Riding the Hankyu train.

That's when he peed inside the bag. (I'll never forget that 🤣)

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Cat history

I've lived with rescue cats since I was in second grade, so I felt no discomfort or resistance at all about bringing him home.

Marco is my fourth cat.

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The life I walked with Marco

So many things have happened.

I never imagined when I first met Marco that I would be living like this today.

I moved many times, quit my corporate job to open a small restaurant, was completely shocked to get married and become a mother, and suddenly had to care for my mother after she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.

On top of that, my son turned out to be allergic to cats!

It really makes me realize how unpredictable life is.

I wonder how much I talked to Marco. Even if I spread my arms wide, it wouldn't be enough. He always just listened silently and intently.

Sometimes he had a slightly dazed look, as if he didn't understand, but there were also times when I knew for sure he understood everything.

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Marco and my son

He took good care of me, but Marco was like a grandfather to my son.

He never flinched no matter what my son did to him 😆

He was already an elderly cat by then, so it must have been a hassle for him.

Come to think of it, when my son was still small and couldn't talk, if I asked him "Where's Marco?", he would almost always look around the kotatsu.

All cats love kotatsu tables, don't they?

He was a genius at finding warm spots and cool spots.

And he became my partner.

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Marco in his later years

He was a cat who would always purr whenever I petted his head.

He didn't mind having his nails clipped at all. Well, I suppose he minded a little bit.🤣

Anyway, he was a lonely and quiet cat who would always come to my bed and sleep with me on the pillow.

I used to give him treats from time to time, but I felt like his stomach was getting upset, so I banned the treats.

His meals might have been a bit bland in his later years. I'm sorry.

After he got old, he couldn't get up onto the bed anymore, and we couldn't sleep together,

so he was always curled up on a cushion or inside the kotatsu.

But even though his litter box and food were in the kitchen on the second floor, he never had any accidents and would go back and forth between the second and third floors.

Walking up and down the stairs became so slow, so whenever I found him, I would always pick him up and carry him.

He would even happily accept my son's clumsy attempts to hold him.

Marco really watched over my son the whole time.

I wish we could have been together forever.
I just wanted him to stay by our side at least until my son grew up a little more.

I couldn't help but wish for that.

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Marco's birthday

My son decided on Marco's birthday.
He said it was sad that Marco was the only one without a birthday.

July 8th.

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That day

But, I felt it might be soon.
He is 21 years old, after all.

I had been thinking for a long time that it might be soon.
That I had to prepare myself.

And I thought I had already prepared myself for it.

He's been losing his energy lately.
Is it really time now?
But he still manages to come all the way up to the third floor, and he's still eating and using the litter box in the morning, so

He'll be okay for a little longer, right?
He's just lounging around in the kotatsu.

That's what I thought as I watched him, but that day, for the first time, he had an accident.

He peed.

I think he didn't have the strength to go downstairs.

I was surprised, so I brought his food and water upstairs and said,
"If it's too hard to go downstairs, eat here."
.

I was worried, but I went back down to work (the shop is on the first floor and we live upstairs), and as soon as my son came home, he went to say hello to Marco, but he came back with a face that looked like he was about to cry.

"Marco looks like he's in pain," he said.

My husband, my son, and I all went upstairs to check on him, and when I saw Marco, I knew right away. I don't know why, but I just knew.

My husband and son said,
"Let's close the shop for the day and take Marco to the hospital."

But our regular vet was closed,
and the other clinic in the neighborhood was also closed,
so we couldn't take him.

So, I told my husband and son,
"Let's take him tomorrow morning." I said that, but I think I really knew.

Besides, I think it was for the best.

Because, no matter how you look at it, you could tell. Putting him in a pet carrier and riding a bike to the hospital would only have been a burden.

I wanted his final moments to be as peaceful as possible. No matter how hard I tried, I just knew that he was going to pass away.

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"Let's have some water."

When I brought Marco to his water bowl, he licked it a little bit, and then he just rested his head on the edge of the bowl and lay down.

I couldn't take him to the hospital, but I closed the shop that day and stayed by Marco's side the whole time, watching over him while stroking his head.

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The Day a Cat Was Born in Heaven

At night, after putting my son to sleep,
around 3 a.m., when everyone else was fast asleep,

I heard a wheezing sound.

Marco, who had been lying down and sleeping just a meter away from my bed, had tried his best to walk over to me and was right beside the bed.

When I looked down from my pillow, Marco was lying there as if snuggling up to the bed.

I thought,
"Now it's my turn to be by your side,"
and

I gently picked Marco up,
placed him on my lap, and kept stroking his head.

They say cats live a million times, so
maybe he might be reborn.

When you are reborn, come back to our home.

If you ever have any trouble,
make sure to meow a lot and tell me, just like you did back then.

Mommy will definitely find you.

I will definitely search for you and find you again, so make sure to meow a lot.
Make sure you tell me properly.

And then let's be a family again.
Let's live together again.

I remembered so many things and couldn't stop the tears; I kept talking to him, saying "thank you," and continued stroking his head, when

he just felt like he drifted away.

I thought, 'Oh,' and instinctively looked up.

It was truly a 'poof.'
There was no sound, but I felt it for sure.

I knew that Marco had gone to the sky.

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Marco's Birthday in Heaven

No matter what I was doing, I would end up thinking of Marco,

and if I let my guard down for even a second, tears would overflow.

But I have to keep living,

and I can't keep crying in front of my son forever,

and even though I tell myself I have to be strong, I still can't believe he's not anywhere anymore,

I see Marco in the bag I left lying around,
I feel like I just heard him meow,
and every time the wind blows, I feel Marco.

Just when I thought this sadness might never heal, my son, who was riding on the back of my bicycle, asked,

'Mom. When is Marco's birthday?'

He asked me that.

'It's July 8th, right? He decided that himself, remember?'

When I answered,

He said.

Ah, he meant the anniversary of his death.
I see.
He was reborn in heaven.

…I see.
So he was born in heaven.

I was saved by my son, whom Marco always watched over so gently.

Thank you.

“It’s March 3rd.The day Marco was born in heaven.”😊

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To be honest, I am still very sad even now.
But, again today, little by little.
I will live each day that Marco gave me with care.

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Finally

Three years have passed since I said goodbye to Marco.

I wrote this article by connecting my current thoughts to the blog post I wrote back then.

Actually, my note ID (is that what it's called?) is “marukotoganbaru” (Doing my best with Marco)😊🐈

So, I had hoped that someday I would be able to write an article about Marco.

To those who have also said goodbye to someone precious.
I hope this brings you even a little bit of comfort.

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Click here for my self-introduction👇