Molly’s Story
Molly happily basking in a sunny window in “her” bedroom on April 13, 2023
My parents happily adopted Molly on November 28, 2008 when she was just over one year old. I met Molly a couple of months after that. Although met may not be the most accurate word. When I went to my parents’ home one day, my mother was holding Molly tightly as I walked in. Molly struggled to get free, then ran down the hallway to hide. For years, I did not see her unless she was sitting in a window when I drove up to the house.
At the end of 2014, my father had some medical problems. Since my mother was not physically able to help him as he needed, I visited often to help them as I could. Molly must have grown accustomed to my presence because one day, while sitting in the living room, my mother suddenly looked surprised. She quietly said, “Look!” and gestured towards the hallway. There was Molly, sitting at the entrance to the living room. My mother had a small container of cat treats by her chair, so I asked her to hand them to me. I sat on the floor with the treats. Molly perked up when she realized treats were coming out. I tossed one close to her, which she ate. I tossed another a bit closer to me, and she ate that too. I repeated this process until she was close enough for me to pet her. She rubbed my hand happily. Molly never let anyone but our parents touch her. I was so proud of her, and grateful she took a chance on me.
Unfortunately that was the last time I saw Molly until 2019 when my mother died. In case you are not familiar with my story, here is the very abridged version: In February, 2015, I nearly died from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, and was unable to function well for quite some time after that. I did not tell my parents about this. Our relationship was very strained and toxic during the best of times, and worse when I had any physical problem, so keeping the experience to myself was my best option. Then, I severed ties with them after a huge fight in 2016. My father died in 2017, my mother in 2019. (Many miracles happened around the times of their deaths, and you can read about them here) When my mother passed away is when Molly re-entered my life. Several years prior to their deaths, both of my parents had asked me to take Molly if anything happened to them. I said I would, but expected them to change their minds. Thankfully, they never did.
Sadly, my mother passed away at home, alone with Molly. No one knew until two days later when the police were contacted to do a welfare check. They found in her chair, with Molly at her feet. Being the next of kin, the police told me I needed to handle the situation. One officer did offer to call Animal Control to remove Molly, but I told him no, I was taking her home with me, and that was that.
Once the funeral home took my mother away, I went inside the house to look for Molly. I found her hiding under a bed, wild eyed and very obviously traumatized. Since she was badly shaken up, I simply told her I loved her & was going to take good care of her, then gave her fresh food and water, cleaned her litter box and went home. Knowing her personality (reserved, lady like, and very anxious due to her chaotic home life), I thought time alone in the quiet house would be best for her.
The following day I went back to the house and found her under the bed again. She was a bit calmer but still very obviously not herself. I laid on the floor and talked to her. I told her I know she knows what happened to Mommy, and that she is gone. Molly let out the most mournful meow I ever heard.. even now remembering that sound still brings tears to my eyes. I reminded her that our parents called me her big sister, and her my little sister. This means it was now my job to take good care of her, and I promised to do my absolute best to do that for her.
Over the next few weeks, I went to the house daily, talking to Molly while I worked around the house. She stayed under the bed for the first couple of weeks, but then she began venturing out sometimes. We became very close at that time. I had a very hard time with my mother’s death because of our complicated relationship that ended so badly just under three years prior. Molly was gentle and loving when I would get sad in her presence. I knew she was sad too. We helped each other get through that awful time.
Finally, just under four weeks later, Molly let me put her in a carrier to bring her home.
I was unsure how Molly would respond to this move. Our parents’ home was her home for eleven years. Plus, I already had several cats, and Molly was used to being an only cat. Thank God, my cats were welcoming and understanding, allowing her to adjust as she needed to. It did not take long for Molly to embrace her role as their aunt, and my enforcer. Every time I scolded one of my cats, she would follow up by smacking them or hissing at them as if to say, “Do what she says and do it right now!” My cats quickly learned that when I said, “Don’t make me get Aunt Molly” that they needed to behave or else face the discipline of their strict auntie!
In 2020, my little family moved into our parents’ home, and Molly was thrilled to be back in her home. I am grateful for the opportunity to live here since it meant Molly was able to spend her final few years here.
Our relationship was absolutely wonderful. Molly was more human than cat in many ways probably due to being an only cat for her entire life. She really was like a quiet, furry little sister. I have an ability to communicate with animals, and Molly knew this. Not long after our mother died, and she began to trust me, she also opened up to me. We talked all the time. I still miss our conversations.
Molly blossomed into a confident, opinionated and wonderful girl as she healed. It turned out that she enjoyed car rides, so she became my copilot whenever I had to go somewhere that I did not need to leave her in the car. In fact, I got her a small basket with a pillow in it to help boost her up so she could look out the window and be comfortable…
Molly enjoying a car ride July, 2023. (She was actually purring when I took this picture in spite of looking like she was annoyed)
I cannot help but think our parents would be thrilled with this! They absolutely adored Molly.
Molly also surprised me with being very tolerant of kittens. Three months before her passing, my friend told me about a litter of kittens that were found at her work. Two were left that needed homes. I was hesitant to adopt kittens with Molly being 16 and in frail health, but my concerns turned out to be unfounded. While she was not extremely maternal with them, she was very tolerant, and loved them…
Fara always wanted to love on or be close to Molly. She was not snuggly with other cats, so they often settled on this arrangement
Once Molly turned 15, she began to develop some health issues, but was doing well with proper medication and care. Suddenly in May, 2024, she was getting oddly picky about what she wanted to eat. One day, she said, “My tummy hurts.” We went to the vet who diagnosed her with a cancerous mass in her stomach. Molly passed away quietly on July 24, 2024 due to that and other health problems the cancer created and exacerbated.
Losing Molly has been incredibly painful. I have relied on my faith to get me through the hardest days, as I always do, and God continually has comforted me. He also told me that Molly wanted me to listen to certain songs as they would comfort me or they reminded her of me. I experienced this scenario several times with some of my pets, and it always was helpful. Yet even so, the grief was excruciating.
One day after Molly had been gone almost two months, I came across a course to become a certified grief coach for pet loss. I decided to take the course in the hopes of helping myself. After taking the course, I realized this is something I really wanted to do to help others who are struggling after losing a pet as I have. It also felt like a wonderful way to honor Molly. Since she is the reason I got into this, I also decided to make my beautiful girl the focal point of my logo.
I created a YouTube channel for Molly. There are some adorable videos on there showing her beautiful, wonderful personality and a tribute video I made after she passed. I hope you enjoy her videos!
Bailey sisters. I love Molly’s facial expression in this picture. She knew she was truly a queen!