In Memoriam of Cookie Chaim Gerson

About 13 years ago, I went to the local SPCA in search of one of my cats who had gotten lost during a storm. (She was not there – I found her later trapped in a neighbor’s garage.) I had no intention of getting another cat, but as I walked by the cages one beautiful little kitty stuck both his arms out through the bars, rolled over on his back, and did every cute trick in his repertoire. I thought I would just save his life, foster him for a while, and find him a “forever home” – but this little angel clearly knew that he had already found his Mommy – and he kept tugging on my heart strings until I knew it too (didn’t take very long!). I named him “Cookie” because he looked like a sugar cookie – white with a little brown around the edges (of his ears).

Cookie was my faithful companion for nearly 13 years. Unlike most cats, he was not very territorial – he loved adventure and would fly with me like a trooper! Seatmates often remarked at the end of the flight that they had never known there was a cat onboard! Wherever we landed, I would open up his carrier and he would make himself right at home, without missing a beat. He was happy wherever we were as long as he was with me.

He was incredibly affectionate and even won over people who had never loved cats before. Never once in all the years I knew him did Cookie ever hiss or bite or lash out at anyone – he was 99% pure love and 1% mischief, covered in soft white fur. Cookie loved people (new hands to pet him and marvel at his loveliness!) and had to be in the thick of things whenever I had guests. He was really smart, too! I remember once when I had fed him and several other cats together from one bowl, he reached over with his paw and pulled the bowl toward himself 🙂 Cookie cherished every second of his life and was a very, very brave and courageous boy. Even at the very end when he had been diagnosed with a terrible tumor in his mouth, he learned how to feed himself with his paw. He wanted to enjoy this beautiful world and be with me for every second.

Elana Gerson
USA