Kitty was my 15th birthday present. She was cross-eyed, her tongue stuck out, and she was probably taken from her cat mother too young. She used to bump into things those first few weeks and we joked about getting her glasses. About a week after I got her, I held her as my parents told me they were getting a divorce. I snuggled with her
in bed that night and cried.
She was a loving cat, but she was wild, too. She would kill birds in the yard and then come in and nuzzle you. She was quirky-she would climb trees and then cry loudly until you came to help her down. One time on a walk I saw her sitting on the roof of the house by the chimney! I guess she was getting warm, or perhaps waiting on the chimney sweeps that would sometimes fly out. She grew up, and I grew up. I went off to college and left her for 5 or 6 years with my parents,
seeing her on breaks.
On one break from graduate school, my parents were on vacation and the cats were home alone. It was unusually cold that week and I decided to drive the few hours and spend time with the cats and check on them. Kit’s coat was ragged, she had an almost wild but dead look in her eyes, she was throwing up, staggering around. I took her to the emergency vet; she was diagnosed with kidney failure and given maybe a week to live. She made it through that week and I took her back to school with me for a second opinion.
That changed both of our lives-I was now solely responsible for her, but I had her constant companionship, too. I gave her fluids every day for the next 8 years, and she thrived. She was such a fighter. She never complained about her daily fluids, or the special kidney food she had to mostly eat. We moved to 2 different cities together. We were inseparable-she was my best friend. She was my baby-I would not have loved her more if I had given birth to her. She was a clown, she never failed to make me smile or bring me joy. She was the sweetest, most good-natured soul I’d ever met. Every time she woke up, she woke up purring and happy. She was my inspiration. She made me so happy. She was the tiniest little thing, her paws weren’t as wide as a quarter. She was so delicate, so petite, just so pretty. She was a tough
little thing to have been so little.
It is now my 33rd birthday, and I Iost her 1 week ago not to the kidney disease but to congestive heart failure. I can’t believe that I lost Kit, who had the biggest, sweetest, heart in the world, because of her heart failing. I miss her so much, but I know she is breathing easy now, and not hungry, and hopefully smiling down at me every now and then contentedly. Even though we are apart, I still feel her presence as if she’s right here. She’s still so alive in my heart. I had her 18 years. From age 15 to 33, we went through so much together.
I miss you Queenie, I will always love you. You’re such a good girl, Mommy is so proud of you for being so brave. I will see you one day, until then rest and play and be happy and know that I love you and I am always thinking about you.
Love,
| Kit |
| Mommy |