Cat stickers and the memories of those who have passed
My project is very simple—two stickers of two cats, each with their own little quirk. But below the surface, this project was a way for me to channel my grief after the passing of my cat Harper in February, and remember to carry the memories of my loved ones with me.
Cat on homework
This sticker is of my cat Huxley, fostered from Leuk’s Landing which is a sanctuary for cats with Feline Leukemia. After many weeks of convincing my parents, he and another cat Ginger were brought to my family’s home in December of 2018.
It was my family and I’s first time raising cats, but Huxley was an incredibly calm and affectionate cat that we got used to it right away. The year and a half that we had with him was so fruitful—he would always sleep with us on the end of the bed like a dog, lay on our laps, and also had a funny tendency to sit on my homework, which is why I made this sticker design. Unlike our other cats, he also had a natural affinity for the outdoors—we brought him outside on walks a few times, and he would calmly follow the dirt path in the fields behind our backyard, and sometimes lounge in the grass (as seen in the picture above). Although the pandemic was a difficult time for everyone, one silver lining was that because we were stuck at home, I was able to spend every day with him, uninterrupted, until his passing.
Cat with a lot of love
This sticker shows my cat Harper playing with her beloved heart-shaped catnip toy. She was also fostered from Leuk’s Landing, and arrived at our house at the beginning of 2021, shortly after one of our other cats Wolfie passed.
Another family briefly fostered her before us but ended up returning her to Leuk’s Landing because she would always wake them up in the middle of the night to cuddle. But that’s one of the things we loved most about her—she was incredibly affectionate, and would snuggle up against us like a baby whenever she got the chance. She also had a very unhinged personality which brought my family lots of laughter. One time I opened the windows but forgot that the screens had been removed, and twenty minutes later after this realization, I found that Harper was gone. I was honestly scared for my life as I had no idea what could happen to her outside, and searched the surrounding area for the whole day, even going door-to-door in the neighborhood asking if anyone had seen her, to no avail. After nightfall, I didn’t know what else I could do, and bought a can of tuna from CVS right before it closed. My friends and I left the back door open with the tuna, and lo and behold, she popped up as if nothing happened. (LOL)
Grieving
Going into fostering cats with FeLV, my family knew that the time we had with them would be short; however, we wanted to give them a chance to live in a loving and spacious home. The reason why we waited so long to welcome cats to our home was not only that my siblings and I were finally mature enough to take care of them, but also that we knew that the moment when we would have to let them go would be immensely painful.
When Huxley passed, that was the first time I had faced death; the days leading up to his passing were probably the most I had cried in my life, and in the couple of weeks after, I couldn’t bear to sleep in my room because it was filled with so many memories of him. But, the process of grieving taught me something valuable: truly appreciating the memories I had with those who have passed, and carrying on their legacy. I remember with my family in the living room, we talked for hours about our favorite memories of Huxley, which was incredibly healing.
This year, both my father and Harper passed, and I had to revisit how to grieve again. It was my first time grieving in the midst of school; a couple of weeks after my father passed, school resumed following winter break, and I had an internship interview. At the time, it felt so strange seeing everything move forward around me, and yet I felt so stagnant. A month later, my cat passed away, after a difficult battle with cancer. After skipping a few days of school to spend the last days with her, I came back to class with my eyes bloated and my brain all over the place. And yet, I still had to listen to my economics lecture so I wouldn’t fall behind. I didn’t want to fall behind, but at the same time, I felt like I couldn’t move forward.
During these school days, random things would remind me of the memories of those who passed. Eating cereal reminded me of my dad when he sat at the breakfast table with my twin sister and me every morning, scooping the cereal into our bowls and making sure we didn’t get any crushed bits at the bottom of the bag. Walking through the Diag, when I saw a squirrel, it reminded me of Harper and her oh-so-cute pudginess. These recollections that hit me at the most unexpected moments made me realize that I could carry on the memories of those who have passed with me, and that felt comforting somehow.
Making these stickers is one way that I’ve been able to carry the memories of my beloved cats with me even after they’ve passed. Selling the stickers at art fairs, I’ve been able to tell people about the stories of my cats—their fun little tendencies, their stories, and just how much I love them.
