Animalspeak: Cinderella: A tale of loneliness and friendship

Of all the European folk tales with females as central figures, "Cinderella" is perhaps the most popular because of the hope it inspires the world over.

All of us are familiar with Cinderella, a beautiful young girl who was forced into servitude by her father’s second wife and his two stepdaughters.

Well, I have my own Cinderella tale to share with you as we celebrate Women’s Month.

The Cinderella I knew was a beautiful tortoiseshell Persian cat who gave her human reason to live.

Cinderella was 17. Her guardian, whom we shall call Aling Lorna, is 68 years old.

They went to malls, markets, clinics together. Aling Lorna commuted to her destinations and Cinderella gamely rode the jeepney nestled safely in her mama’s arms.

Born in May 1998, Cinderella lived the first 13 years of her life with Aling Lorna’s daughter, most of the time in a cage. A passionate cat lover, Aling Lorna was finally able to take her home in 2011.

From then on, they spent all their waking hours together. Cinderella bloomed into a loving, loyal and beautiful feline who enjoyed expensive cat food, milk and vitamins every day.

“Never mind if I couldn’t eat as long as Cinderella didn’t go hungry,” Aling Lorna confided.

In the morning, Aling Lorna would hear the cat call out to her. “Maaaaa,” she would cry out in her little voice that would send Aling Lorna flying out of bed.

You see, to Aling Lorna, Cinderella was her baby. The fact that she cried “Maaaaa” instead of “Meooooow” made her all the more endearing to the elderly woman.

With her four children grown up and leading their own lives, Aling Lorna poured all her love on her cat. Although she lived with her husband, she had learned to ignore him after years of emotional abuse. He worked abroad for several years and supported his family, but she also caught him at least five times with other women.

Aling Lorna didn’t leave him because she had no job and there were four young mouths to feed and send to school. She was alone and unhappy. But she found solace in Cinderella, her other cats and a small business she had set up selling accessories and native bags.

Her troubles started again when her husband came home for good. He forced her to close her business from which she derived income to feed her cats. With only one son employed, soon they were battling financial problems and living a hand-to-mouth existence.

Like the European Cinderella, Aling Lorna’s days were spent cooking, washing, and cleaning all three floors of their house. This she did despite a crack in her spine after she slipped and fell on the floor in November 2012.

Often, at the end of the day, she would find herself in tears due to self-pity, pain and fatigue. “When I cried, Cinderella looked at me and said ‘Maaaaa’ to comfort me,” Aling Lorna said.

Her doctor had warned her against doing housework and lifting heavy stuff to allow her back to heal. She wasn’t even allowed to bend. But there was just nobody else to do the housework.

Sometimes, she entertained thoughts of leaving everything behind. “I was ready to take to the streets, to go wherever I could escape,” she sighed. “But I couldn’t leave Cinderella behind. And the streets would not be safe for her. She wouldn’t even be allowed on the bus.”

So Aling Lorna stayed put, took painkillers, vitamins and wore a back brace. Cinderella made her forget her miserable life, albeit temporarily.

For one year, Cinderella accompanied her to morning therapy sessions thrice a week at a clinic near SM North Mall. Doctors, therapists, nurses and other patients adored her. Aling Lorna couldn’t leave her at home—she was afraid someone would leave the door open and curiosity would lure Cinderella out.

At the mall, where they spent their afternoons, security guards, store managers and employees and shoppers just couldn’t get enough of the charming cat.

Cinderella thrived under all the attention. She loved it when people carried and doted on her. Together both human and cat frequented different malls. Cinderella enjoyed dressing up and hated it when it was time to undress. She had 14 tutus of different colors, seven casual outfits, and four pairs of shoes.

Aling Lorna also made 14 pairs of necklaces and bracelets for her using Swarovski crystals and fresh water, rice, siopao and egg pearls from her own collection.

Cinderella loved her accessories. After Aling Lorna put them on her, she would jump off the table and run around the house to parade her jewels.

One day, the pair went to Munoz market to buy fish. As usual, they were surrounded by admirers and well-wishers. Then a small, dark-skinned man with short hair and a white shirt passed them and shouted: “Uusogin ko yan [I will hex her].”

Quickly, Aling Lita replied in defense: “Pwera usog.”

But the hex had been done. In the next days, Cinderella couldn’t poop and this led to kidney and liver infections. Aling Lorna brought her cat to an animal hospital but she couldn’t afford confinement. Blood tests showed Cinderella had high creatinine levels.

The cat’s condition deteriorated in the next few weeks. Aling Lorna did what she could – spoonfed her special diet and religiously gave her medications. Cinderella tried to please her mama by obediently taking both food and meds. But it just wasn’t enough.

Dehydration set in and by the time she was brought to another veterinary hospital, it was too late. The attending veterinarian gave Cinderella a 20% chance of survival. Aling Lorna cried in desperation. “Don’t leave me,” she said. “I will have no one else to live for.”

The next day, at 8 a.m., Cinderella died in the arms of Aling Lorna. They were inseparable for four years. Her two other felines – Darna, a tuxedo cat and Lovie, a Siamese, sensed her anguish and tried to comfort her by rubbing their bodies against her.

Aling Lorna realizes now that Cinderella helped her keep her sanity and cope with life. “She was my happiness,” she says without hesitation.

The night after Cinderella died, Aling Lorna cried again and in between sobs, called out to her: “I miss you. I love you. Are you here with me, Baby?”

Something told her to look up, and when she did, she saw a tuft of Cinderella’s hair floating down toward her. It landed on the table right in front of her. She believes that Cinderella will look out for her from the other side.

Life has to go on and although she is still grieving, Aling Lorna has already lined up plans for Darna and Lovie. She knows there will never be another Cinderella, but she also knows she has to remain strong for herself and her two remaining cats. — BM, GMA News