June 6, 2006 – September 21, 2020
This is the story of Habeebah, written by her mother, Rasha. Habeebah in Arabic means darling. She is the last daughter of my cat Basobs and her mother is my cat Besbesah. She was born in Saudi Arabia the only kitty in her litter and I thought she was a boy and called her Habeeb. Then we turned it to Habeebah by adding taa marbota. Habeebah was smart, loving, and strong. When I decided to move to the USA I picked her up to be my companion. She handled her trip overseas like a champion. We arrived to the Washington DC airport and my mother carried the 6 months kitty to enter the USA. Habeebah was always welcomed wherever she goes and carried love and happiness with her. We always lived together. Indeed, she always slept next to me. This is the first time I cry without her cleaning my tear and my forehead, then purring to make sure everything is ok. We lived together in three different states, Minnesota, Maryland and Virginia. In Minnesota we added another pet to the family, Jade, who she always treated with love and kindness. We went as a family through a culture shock, learning the English language , earning a master, starting a PhD, naturalization, and finding the perfect job and place to live. She loved outdoors and sun baths, she also loved to socialize with people and was a great host. She loved to do yoga with me (she had her own poses). She was vocal and would sing along. In 2010 she inspired a famous Saudi Artist to design a Habeebah prayer room in her collection. More than anything, she loved me, Rasha, unconditionally. She loved her grandmother and when Mom moved back to the USA this year Habeebah decided to move to mom’s room. Habeebah heart failed last August and they treated her in the ER and let her come home. After leaving the hospital, she recovered beautifully. She spent her last day loved more than ever. She still held my hands when go to sleep and join mom in her prayer. On September 20 her heart filed again. On our way in Uber, the driver thought she is my daughter and she sounded like a 2 years old. He thought she was my first born. Indeed, she was more than just a daughter to me. She is my best friend and my companion. She died in her warm bed on her grandmother arms. We will bury her in a respectful cemetery and I have my place saved next to her. She left a big void in my life that can’t be filled. That was Habeeabh, my kitty cat. May she rest n peace. Please remember us in your prayers. It is hard to not have her around.