The Purpose of Bootsie Pussywillow Palmer by Rebekah Palmer

Our next prompt is to tell a cat adoption story from the point of view of the cat!! We are called The Cat Chat Writers, so obviously we love cats!! We all thought this would be a fun exercise. :) And our first one is Rebekah's story. A nod to how pets can be a very potent medicine. Enjoy, and please comment!!

Bootsie Pussy Willow Palmer

 The Purpose of Bootsie Pussywillow Palmer by Rebekah Palmer

Trigger Warnings: chronic illness, throwing up

My eyes opened to see a frizzled-haired woman reach her hand towards my head.

"This one's eyes are clear."

She started scratching behind my ears then stroked my back and tickled under my chin. I was then lifted by the man next to her and put into a cardboard box. 

An engine started around me and I was off to start my third life somewhere besides my previous two that had lived out on this farm. Gone was the warmth of my mother's belly, the smell of my siblings, the cows, the hay, and the tepid milk.

The first morning I awoke next to a slight wisp of a girl with yellow, corn silk hair. I smelled myself over. The scent of urine was overwhelming. It wasn't me. The frizzle-haired woman was back again using her hands to tug the soaked sheets off the bed from underneath the girl, whose pictured-outer-fur-of-sorts was sticking to her body, revealing peachy, pale smoothness after it was removed.

I jumped off the bed and went looking for my moist food that had been in the kitchen last night. House life was cushy and barn life was cozy.

Something was terribly wrong with this girl though and I was to be a comfort, I suppose, for her. She seemed a bit frightened of me. My elegant grey fur and white-socked paws were exquisitely coiffed to perfection. I always am a sight to behold, as evidenced by the frizzle-haired woman's earlier exclamation about my eyes.

The sound of water running in the next room alerted me to the girl being cleaned. Humans are silly using water and hard lumps or gooey liquid to make their bodies presentable. I only discovered this having observed the man the other night using the room down the hall for such purposes.

He did not like my cat's eyes assessing his process so I was promptly excused to the girl's room.

While I did live on a farm with smells to revel in, a new smell coming near the girl who had appeared at the kitchen table presented itself to me. It was noxious like cow barn but more like the cow barn was on fire.

The girl was putting small, white pieces in her mouth and drinking from a cup after each piece.

"Do you have all your medicine taken?" from the frizzle-haired woman.

Medicine. Medicine smells badly.

"Gah. Cystagon." The man mumbled as he joined the girl at the table.

"You take it, Dad." The girl responds.

"I do not have Cystinosis." He states.

Whatever this Cystinosis is, this is what is causing the girl to be wet in her bed and swallowing smelly medicine.

Maybe I am to be a better medicine of sorts. A beautiful and playful medicine so the girl will have joy.

I need to give her joy because she suddenly has left the table and loud noises and splashing come from the water room.

"We'll be late for her first day o f Kindergarten. I'll have to give her another dose with apple sauce."

I can give the frizzle-haired woman joy too. So I start playing with her toes.

"Kitty." She smiles and pets me down my back like the first time she saw me open my eyes and look at her. I give her a nibble and lick her hand.

"I like her white paws." The man says.

The girl returns and is sniffling with tears down her cheeks.

"What do you think of the name Bootsie for your kitty? Because she only has white on her paws just like a pair of boots?" The man explains.

"I like it, Dad." The girl rubs her face. "And can her middle name be pussy willow like those grey plants by Grandma's cows? Her fur everywhere else is grey and soft like them!"

Bootsie Pussy Willow Palmer.

Joy has a full name. And it is me. Me that gets to live my third life a contented cat. 

*Cystinosis is an ultra rare disease wherein a defect in the cell's lysosomes causes cystine to accumulate and destroy vital tissue and organs in the body. Manifestations of the disease include massive urinary loss of phosphate, bicarbonate and other crucial electrolytes which are normally absorbed by the renal tubules, rickets, and failure to thrive.

*Cystagon was an early treatment for Cystinosis first available as a liquid then as an oral medication for those diagnosed with the disease. Another form of this medication (using the ingredient cysteamine that causes Cystagon to smell like sulfur) is on the current market called Procysbi. The difference between the two drugs is method of delivery: Cystagon releases in the stomach and Procysbi releases in the small intestine. 

This information can be found in the book Strength: Lives Touched By Cystinosis in the foreword by Dr. Paul Goodyer Professor of Pediatrics and Human Genetics McGill University Health Centre. The anthology is edited and compiled by Amanda Leigh and Amanda Buck.