The Cat I Didn’t Expect, but Couldn’t Live Without: Remembering Burger

Full disclaimer, this was written over a month ago, back on September 18th. It took me this long to bring myself to finally post it. What’s funny (not ‘haha’ but ‘oh’), when I wrote my last blog post about bringing home Whiskey, the idea of all of my cats’ mortality came to mind and I damn near wrote about it but decided it was too morbid a thought to put out there in the world. Apparently, something inside of me knew more than I wanted to admit to myself and therefore the world. But here we are.

Here’s the original post from September 18th:

It was 4959 days ago that I walked into the Methuen MSPCA, on a mission to adopt the fattest, orangest cat I could find. The idea of a kitten hadn’t even crossed my mind. I’d only ever known adult cats, and I was confident that this time would be no different. In fact, I had already set my sights on a chunky orange cat when my sister called me over.

There she was—tiny, adorable, and not at all what I had imagined. This tiny nugget, who would later be named Burger, was undeniably cute, but I wasn’t sure. Then she reached up, smacked my sister’s sunglasses clean off her face, and in that moment, I knew. That little sass told me everything I needed to know. The universe had intervened. She wasn’t the cat I went looking for, but she was absolutely the one I was meant to find.

For the next 4959 days, Burger was my ride or die. She was the sweetest, most loving cat I’ve ever had, despite the perpetual “resting bitch face” she carried so well. She was an absolute purr monster, and that stayed true right until the end.

4959 days. It feels like a big number when you write it out, but now it feels impossibly small. Too short. I’m selfish—of course, I want 4959 more. I want her with me forever. But the universe had other plans, and I find myself cursing it, sitting here with my heart shattered, trying to find words that will never do justice to just how much I loved my sassy little Burger Baby.

Losing her hurts in ways I can’t fully explain. Burger wasn’t just a cat. She was a constant, a force of pure, unfiltered love wrapped up in attitude and purrs. I know, wherever she is now, she’s giving them hell with that same sass that made me fall in love with her all those years ago.

Rest in peace, sweet Burger. My heart will always be a little emptier without you.