Geesha

Geesha came as a package deal with Tiki, but they couldn't have been more different.  Geesha was a gorgeous, long-haired white cat, a Pisces with Taurus rising, who was so soft, sensitive, and tuned-in it was amazing.  She was my familiar, although it took me years to realize it.

Geesha had been totally intimidated by Tiki the first three or four years of her life.  She was quite shy, and I worked with her slowly to bring her out of her shell.  When she and Tiki joined Circe, the balance of power was thrown off, and for the first time in her life, Geesha didn't necessarily have to be the kitty on the bottom of the totem pole.  I began by getting her up into the bed, and petting her a lot.  I then started a little game with her, where I put out my palm, and she put her paw into my palm.  It was totally sweet, and we connected.

As she realized there was now a *third* cat around, she started picking on Circe.  Circe, also being a sweet cat, took a great deal, as I silently prayed that he would stand up for himself, and they would get along.  Finally, one day, he did.  They got along wonderfully thereafter.

My ex-husband also worked with Geesha to bring her out of herself more.  They had a little game they played, where he would, in a high-pitched voice, call her name, and move around her quickly in a semi-circle.  She would roll over on her back, terribly excited, and meow at him.  Then she would suddenly stand up and bite his ankles!  He didn't mind, and she enjoyed the hell out of the ankle-biting game.

Bastardizations of her name were Geesh, Feesh, Feeshie, Feeshle.  She was a Pisces, after all, so the mispronunciation of fish fit her to a tee.

I knew she was my familiar one day when I hosted a women's circle at my home.  At the beginning of the circle, when the High Priestess was about to walk around the circle and smudge everyone with sage, Geesha walked in, sat down between two people, and waited.  She stayed until she got smudged, and then left the circle.  I was astounded, as was everyone else there.  She did, however, have a bad habit of waving her tail around during rituals, and a couple of times she lit up her tail like a torch from a candle flame, which is why I *always* keep a water bottle close by during rituals (not to mention simply keeping candles off the floor these days).

We hadn't noticed that she had been drinking an excessive amount of water for awhile.  She had seemed perfectly fine.  At 17-1/2, she was jumping the barrier we had erected to keep Circe, who had just had a stroke, from going up the stairs.

The day after Circe died, she suddenly acted very sick.  It was almost as though she couldn't stand to be without him.  I took her to the vet, and the diagnosis was kidney failure.  They hydrated her under her skin, and we did this several times.  The vet was going to teach me how to do this at home, in fact.  Then the holidays arrived.

Christmas night, she was not doing well.  She would not eat, and I force-fed her (which, although I'm glad I did in Tiki's case, I wish I hadn't in her case).  She was ready to go, and was choosing her time.

I woke the next morning, and she was there at the foot of the bed, staring.  I touched her, and she was still alive.  I set her down on the floor next to the water dish, and she cried out and fell over.  I knew.  I picked her up and held her in my arms in the bed, softly petting her as she took a few deep breaths and died in my arms.  A little trickle of blood from her mouth told me she was gone.

I waited awhile, crying and holding her limp body, before waking my husband and telling him.  I called the funeral parlor I knew the vet used (it was the day after Christmas; almost everyone and everything was closed).  They were open for another hour, so we took her body and wrapped her in a towel.  After letting Tiki hiss goodbye to her, we took her to the funeral home and made arrangements.

She was my familiar, and she decided she was going to die at home in my arms, rather than at the vet's.  I am terribly glad she did.

She comes back to visit often, as she is very tuned in.  She could stand at the bedroom door and simply *think*, and I would open the door, knowing she was there and wanted in.  Geesha was truly amazing.
 

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