MISS DAISY
by
Helen Gibbs Pohlot
One sunny morning in the summer of 2012 a strange noise drew my attention to the kitchen door. I looked outside at a cat trying to get into my house.
“Get out of here,” I yelled as the little animal looked at me with surprise.
“Go. Get out of here,” I repeated. I was relieved when the little cat fled.
I am not accustomed to cats. It’s not that I didn’t like them, I just had never been around a cat.
For the next two days the cat returned and I told it to go away.
I was in no frame of mind to deal with what I thought was a stray cat although it was beautiful, looked well fed and groomed.
My mother died a few weeks before so grief was about all that I could deal with at the time.
I was not alone as my next door neighbor Nancy lost her daughter around the same time my mother passed.
Four days after the cat appeared at my door, I asked Nancy if she knew who owned the cat.
Nancy told me the cat came over to her in the backyard several days before while she was thinking of her daughter.
“I felt this cat was sent to comfort me in some way since I love cats,” Nancy said. “I didn’t know where she came from, but she was well fed and wanted to hang around so I started feeding her.”
A few days later, Nancy saw a girl at the top of the field behind her house looking for something. She was looking for Daisy. The girl was watching Daisy for her mother-in-law who was in the process of moving from one place to another.
Nancy said that Daisy did not get along with the girl’s dog and preferred coming over to her house.
“Since I didn’t mind, the girl was just as happy to have me take her temporarily,” added Nancy. “I wanted to keep her.”
When Nancy told me Daisy’s story, my heart melted. I felt awful that I did not welcome her. She was as lonely and sad, missing someone as much as I was.
My remorse drove me to the store where I stocked up on cat treats. The next day Daisy came to my back door which was different from the other four days when she presented herself at the front.
In my mind she was now “Miss Daisy”, a sweet little animal in need of comfort.
I went outside and joined Daisy on the deck. She was a beautiful, affectionate tabby type cat, with dark brown fur highlighted with golden strips.
Miss Daisy and I became fast friends. I looked forward to her visits each day where we just sat together. I fed her treats and held her close in my arms.
She was warm and comforting at a time I guess we both needed it.
I don’t really remember how many days Daisy visited me, but I knew when her visits ended. I was distraught. I missed her terribly and feared the worst. I had no answers.
When I went over to see Nancy a few days after I realized that Miss Daisy was not coming back, she told me what happened.
While Nancy would have loved to keep Daisy, I would have as well, Nancy said Daisy’s went home. She had no tragic end like I feared. She was safely in the arms of the woman who loved her.
At a time of loss in both my life and Nancy’s, a little cat touched our hearts. I will never forget my friend Miss Daisy.
I still keep a fresh stock of cat treats in the pantry just in case Daisy ever comes back for a visit.