By MARIANNE WOOD

“Mimi, can I go to your house to help you and Pop look for Eddie?”

Our granddaughter, age four, asked me this question as I drove her home from her preschool. I told her she’d have to ask her parents but that I (her Mimi and Pop-her grandad) would like that very much. She repeated her question the following day, and I gave her the prerequisite hoping, hoping, hoping that her question would garner a “yes” from her parents. She’s not coming to our house soon, but I believe, eventually. Eddie, our cat, is most likely missing for good. 

Eddie came to live with us last December 27 thanks to a thoughtful friend who lives in the country and texted wondering if we might be in want of a purrfect friend. As it happened, I’d been looking at furry faces on the humane society website just days prior. So after a quick consultation with my husband, we gathered the necessary provisions for sustaining a kitten during winter and drove out to our friend’s home to pick from the remaining siblings of a litter of four. We chose a little guy who seemed to have a sweet temperament. The color of a cream soda, our friend said. And with a bubbly personality to match. We had no idea how much we would need that kitten

Eddie spent the coolest part of the following days and nights in our garage. We provided a comfy bed tucked between a Max-7 trainer and a sturdy cabinet with a warming crook neck lamp overhead. He joined us inside daily for cuddles and capers with toys supplied mainly by a pet nanny who is a jewel. 

When “Snovid “ hit in February, we let Eddie explore the neighborhood. We even captured a cute video of him making tiny snowballs from the bucket of the white stuff we brought in for flushing the toilet. Curious and handsome with a stretch of soft white fur running the length of his underside, he not only liked us, he liked the entire neighborhood. And most neighbors seemed to like him, noting to us while suppressing chuckles how he joined them on walks or played at their feet outdoors. BIG personality. A therapy cat who came to us four short months before we learned about our daughter’s cancer diagnosis. 

Then, a week and one day after her successful surgery, we learned from his caregiver that Eddie had not shown up for supper. And he hasn’t yet. Maybe he fell in a hole at a nearby construction site. Maybe someone scooped him up like that awful woman who snatched Dianne Jones’s cat—you may have seen her angry Letter to the Editor. We continue to check the local shelter websites. Boy, there are a lot of incarcerated cats! 

Eddie, a.k.a. Edward Longshanks, a.k.a. Eddie Spaghetti, or as one friend aptly nicknamed him—“Stilts,” you were a treasure, and we thank you for making us laugh during a season of fear and sadness. Thank you, God, for touching the heart of a friend to share him with us. Please bring him back if that’s in your plan.

Not long after Eddie made his place firmly in our hearts, I wrote fresh lyrics to the tune of “Eggbert, the Easter Egg.” You’ll get a bigger picture of how much this pet meant to us if you’ll bear with me a little longer. It’s a child’s song, but I think most pet owners have a child’s heart tucked inside them.

Ed-die, the kitty cat
Is a handsome little kitty cat.
‘Spoke to Mimi, and she said
Ed-die, Ed-die, you may not do that!

Ed-die, the kitty cat
Learned to play with string and ping pong balls.
He made us laugh and made us smile
“Ed-die, Ed-die, you’re no longer on trial.”

And then one day
When Springtime came
Our Ed-die moved outside.
And believe it or not
It got so hot
That Ed-die climbed a tree!

Ed-die, the kitty cat,
Is so happy in his habitat.
Eats and sleeps and does not bite,
He’s our furry feline acrobat.

Marianne Wood works as an editorial assistant and researcher for Bill Wright