I am not particularly superstitious, nor do I strongly believe in ghosts. Instead, I consider myself as a rather spiritual person. I say this because shortly after our blue ticked tabby Oriental Shorthair kitten, Master Aki joined our household all kinds of miraculous things started to happen in the Singer household.
As some of you may recall, last July our beloved Oriental Shorthair kitty, Dr. Hush Puppy passed away. For over two months, his brother, Sir Hubble Pinkerton, our 15 year old Oriental Shorthair was grieving so deeply that his health became of great concern to us.
No longer interested in playing or eating with gusto, Sir Hubble Pinkerton moped around the house, hanging out in any area in which he could catch a whiff of his brother’s lingering scent. He cried, he yowled and he constantly paced back and forth searching for his lost companion. While my husband Marty and I missed Dr. Hush Puppy dreadfully, no matter what we did, we were unable to console Sir Hubble.
Thinking that Sir Hubble might be missing a feline friend, we adopted a five month old black and white kitten whom we named Edgar Allen Poe. After two weeks of being confined to our bedroom, we started slowly introducing them, praying that they would eventually bond. However, Edgar Allen Poe was a very curious kitten who just wanted to play with Sir Hubble. However, his invitations to play were far too energetic for Sir Hubble who was not at all amused by this. He wanted nothing to do with this feisty ball of black fur.
We felt very sorry for Edgar Allen Poe. Sir Hubble kept rebuking his overtures, and even though we made sure to frequently play with the kitten, he wanted a playmate. In desperation, I turned to a dear friend- a feline veterinarian- for advice about how to handle this situation. She recommended that we needed to get second kitten to keep Edgar Allen company, which might help prevent him from upsetting Sir Hubble.
We were blessed when Master Aki, a blue ticked tabby Oriental shorthair 5 month-old kitten found us. After the quarantine period was over we started slow introductions. Edgar Allen Poe was over-the-moon thrilled with his new brother. They played together for hours on end; chasing each other around the house and of course getting into all kinds of mischief. For several weeks they blissfully left Sir Hubble in peace.
But suddenly one day, a truly unexpected miracle happened. Sir Hubble started getting fascinated with Aki. He followed him around and began sniffing him. Aki was extremely gentle with him which really worked. It seemed that Aki could actually feel into the depth of Sir Hubble’s grief.
Then one evening, Sir Hubble started chewing on Aki’s ears, (which he constantly did with Dr. Hush Puppy). His facial expression was pure ecstasy. The two could often be found snuggled up in a kitty ball, tightly wrapped around each other. Although Aki continued his rough and tumble play with Poe, during quiet moments, Aki and Sir Hubble are now inseparable.
But what has recently been freaking us out is that Aki is developing all kinds of similar “Hush Puppy” behaviors. He is now staring into mirrors and voguing at his reflection. Hush Puppy spent considerable time doing this. Aki enjoys getting his ears chewed; so did Hush Puppy. And just like Hush Puppy, when Aki wants to cuddle he immediately searches for Sir Hubble. Slowly he is demonstrating all kinds of similar Hush Puppy behaviors.
These activities are convincing me that Dr. Hush Puppy sent Aki to us to help assuage Sir Hubble Pinkerton’s grief and sorrow and bring him joy again. In fact, I strongly believe that Aki’s gentle love, his compassion and empathy has actually saved Sir Hubble’s life, and we are forever grateful that he found us.
While some of these behaviors may be typically feline, I think there is a great mystery afloat. What do you think? Share your thoughts in a comment.
PS: Aki truly sounds like he saved not only Hubble but Poe and the Singers as well!
Jo, I had a very similar experience after the death of my beloved Peaches when, three months later, Kittibits came into my life. I wrote about it as a short story but also related the true part to David Michie, author of The Dalai Lama’s Cat books, offering it as research for an upcoming book he’s planning. Okay if I forward the link to your blog to him too?
This is such a sweet story – brings tears of joy to my eyes to read this. {{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}} for all the boys – {{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}} for you and marty
Absolutely precious photos of precious cats, Jo! Whatever the mysterious solution to this puzzle might be, I’m sure you agree that each and every one of your sweet furmily is unique, treasured, and wonderful!
I am so happy that Aki found you and especially Sir Hubble. It is a proven fact that animals grieve over the loss of close companions. When one of my horses had to be admitted to the equine hospital, there was a mare there with her young foal. The foal had internal abnormalities and was not going to improve,and would cause him major health problems later. The decision was made to euthanize him. They did this in the presence of the mare. They explained that by doing this it helped the mare to understand, not just have her foal disappear. Like the mare Hubble had to have time to adjust to the loss as do all of us that lose something or someone very close to us. I do believe Aki was heaven sent to soothe the grief. Hubble is very lucky that Aki found him.
Thanks Vicki for a beautiful comment.
Vicki, what a touching story! I think the equine vets were very right in the way they euthanized the foal. We thought about bringing Sir Hubble with us when his brother was euthanized but we decided not to. I think it would have helped Sir Hubble to understand more- and not search for all those many weeks for his “lost” companion.
Love EAP. He brought a home to life as so many kits do.
Perhaps, Hubble is too adult to appreciate. But, bringing in Aki was just the right mix for the both of them.
Good job, Jo.
It’s beautiful, brings tears of joy and yes, some sadness too, our babies are a miracle to us and to their feline families. Aki is a true blessing for Sir Hubble and I do hope the three have some bonding time. EAP is beautiful too.
Are you a believer in reincarnation?
No doubt in my mind that Aki is Puppy.
Perfect timing.
I’ve had similar experiences.
Amid the speculation that we humans often engage in, we are sometimes privileged to witness what appears to be a miracle of sorts, which is really something that’s just beyond the limits of our conscious awareness. Sometimes, the end does justify the means!
I’m so happy to know about this new, unexplainable joy in your lives….especially Sir Hubble. Seeing a happy cat is one of life’s highest pleasures, while the opposite is one of life’s most difficult and saddest.
I celebrate their friendship, and the kitten who brought them together. Wishing them and you many wonderful memories!
I think Aki may be the reincarnation of Dr. Hush Puppy…who knows?
Thanks Sondra. I think you could be right 😉
Michael and Sondra,
Your comments touched me very deeply- thank you! We so miss the Hush Man- and are comforted by our sweet Master Aki’s presence in our lives.
Whether Puppy *sent* Aki or *is* Aki, I couldn’t say for sure, but I never discount the possibility.
Rani, I have often wondered that myself actually. Or- Dr. Hush Puppy entered Aki’s body when he was born- knowing that in the future this kitten would be very much needed by our wonderful Sir Hubble Pinkerton.
In case anyone wanted to catch a glimpse of what this odd behavior looks like, I was “lucky” enough last night to catch Sir Hubble in the act of ear chewing!!
https://www.facebook.com/jo.singer/videos/10209671179927048/
*AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW* <3
Perhaps Hush Puppy whispered in Aki’s ear on his way to the Rainbow Bridge. Sometimes I feel that is why my current kitty is so comforting to me. 🙂
Aki is a very handsome boy and these are really nice photos Jo. Well done. It is so lovely see them snuggling up together. So important for Hubble.
It is a lovely story. The friendship and their relationship has worked out so well. It doesn’t always work like that but so nice to see that it has.
Thanks for sharing this Jo.