By Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
When my cats and I first joined UnitedCats.com¹, Cisco blogged that he wanted a yellow cape so he could be a super cat. Through the magic of Photoshop, he made his first flight as Supurr Cisco.
His picture and blog inspired comments from others wanting capes so they too could be super cats. We created distinctive costumes for cats whose humans didn’t know how and so the League of Super Cat Heroes (the LOSCH) was formed.
The cats “flew” rescue missions to benefit endangered felines around the globe.
When my cat, Treat, was killed by a car, the other cats and humans on UnitedCats.com were terribly upset. Everyone on this site knew how hard it is to lose a kitty. I previously had copied the rainbow bridge poem to comfort other members. When Treat died, the LOSCH decided that since they could fly, they should escort him to the bridge, their first “rainbow mission.” A few months later, my beloved Kittibits died of cancer, and we flew another mission.
Since then, every time a kitty veteran of United Cats dies, the LOSCH gives them a rainbow escort. If the kitty is a LOSCH member, s/he is given a 21 Tail Salute by the super cats as they fly home. On a few occasions, when a human member has died, the LOSCH has escorted that person to the bridge to be with their rainbow kitties. Once or twice the escort has honored a dog or another kind of pet, but mostly it’s kitties. It gets tough to narrate the missions, especially when they’re for a member or kitty we’ve grown especially fond of, or when three or four missions are needed, one after the other. But the missions seem to bring comfort to the grieving humans left behind so we purrsevere.
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Note: UnitedCats.com is a forum-style website.
This is good in that it brings a bit of comfort when we are bereaved. We do need something to help us through our pain and grief and a tribute to our beloved feline is a lovely idea.
Ann, you’ll have to forgive me but I presume this is a sort of role play which helps people get over the grief of losing their cat. Am I write in that interpretation? I’m sorry to ask this question. It is just that I have had difficulty sorting out how this works out. It certainly looks like a good idea if it is what I think it is because it’s incredibly difficult to get over the loss of one’s loved cat.
I guess role-play is the right term, Michael. It involves us “speaking through” our cats and giving them a social life that doesn’t send them into real-life hissy-fits. We have had quite a few of these kind of groups in the past but the LOSCH is the longest lasting one, I believe, mostly because of the service nature of the club. During our missions, the cat who has passed perks up as we reach the rainbow bridge, says goodbye to his or her living friends in the escort, and jumps onto the bridge to be reunited, fussed over and feted by the cats (and few people and occasional dog) who have gone before. The other cats and through them their guardians and the guardian of the deceased cat, if s/he can bear it, can say another goodbye. The LOSCH also does virtual vigils for sick cats and missing cats and any of the many hazards or scary occasions in a cat’s life. On UCats in general, it has been quite common for cats to “speak” with their guardian’s voice or write with their keyboard. Personally I’ve found doing this makes me feel closer to my real cats and more mindful of their emotional as well as practical needs.
Thanks Elizabeth Ann, that helps to clarify it for me.
This is such a great concept.
Thank you so much for sharing it.
I think we can never have enough love and support when we have lost a beloved, but this really even pays tribute too. They all deserve that 21 tail salute.
That’s wonderful. I loved this story. Super cat Cisco is gorgeous but he looks even more heroic in his outfit.
This is a great idea. Thanks for sharing it with us.