Dear Cats: A Better Day is Coming

Trying to make two old cats comfortable is proving challenging but I'm doing my best. Every night around 2 a.m., one or both of them start crying, there's no other word for it, so I lumber out of bed and try to comfort them.

But I cannot offer what they want -- their home, the kids, their comfort zone.

I think both cats recognize me and know I am getting them their food and water, but neither really wants to be here.

In trying to care for them, I am struck by how hard it is for any animal, including humans, to age and accept the insecurities and indignities of age.

In my own case, I have gotten very frightened at times when I think my landlady might kick me out. Around here, she could easily charge a new tenant twice as much as I pay in rent, given the housing shortage that plagues San Francisco. If she evicted me, I would have no place to go that I could afford within comfortable access to my job or my teenagers.

Should that occur, I would probably wake up at 2 a.m. each night also and cry out for help. I think that is what happens in most nursing homes, frankly, which breaks my heart. A sad statement on the human condition and our society as a whole.

But for now, I tell the cats, "Hold on." This is also one of the key lines from one my favorite music videos, as long-time readers will know: "Everybody Hurts," by R.E.M.(BTW, this official video is all I can embed, and it is not anywhere near as raw and real as I used to be able to embed. That is one reason personal blogging is no longer a viable option for capturing true feelings. YouTube is making its profits, thank you.)