Phantom Felines And Other Ghostly Animals - Gerina Dunwich 2006

Fat and Sassy
Phantom Felines

by Tom Denney

My cats were named Fat and Sassy. Fat was a twenty-two-pound male and Sassy was a nine-pound female. Sassy was always very playful, but Fat was oppressive, sullen, and very moody. I always hoped that Fat would go first to give Sassy a few years of relief from his moodiness, but that did not happen.

I hated it when Fat would stare Sassy down, and she would have to assume the submissive posture. When I caught this going on, I would clap my hands once and shout his name. That would break things up immediately.

One evening, about a week after Sassy passed away, I was watching television and I saw Fat staring Sassy down again. I started to stand up to do the clap and shout routine, when I realized “Oh, no! She’s already gone.” Obviously, Fat saw her since he was staring her down, and I saw her very clearly as well.

I had a roommate at the time who said he saw Sassy tearing up and down the stairs like she did a hundred times a day. This was significant because right before her passing she had lost circulation to a back paw, and that was the signal of the beginning of the end.

Fat passed away about a month and a half after Sassy did. I have not seen either one since then. It tore me up terribly to go through the same thing with him that I went through with Sassy, and in such a short time frame. But I know they’ve survived the transition and are waiting for me on the other side.