In 1996, sometime during autumn I believe, I turned on the front light and stepped out to add some garbage to the garbage can. Garbage pickup would be the next morning. At the time, my mother and I loved together in the same house I still live in now. As I stepped out, I spotted something orange quickly zip back between our cars. I said something like, "Come on out! I see you!" Out trotted a small, orange kitten.
This kitten wouldn't let me get too close to it, but at the same time wouldn't go too far away from me either. Over the next few weeks, I remember being able to pet this kitten sometimes, but other times this kitten would play keep away. The kitten, a she it turned out, hung out across the street in front of a house.
My mom figured maybe the people at this house were taking care of her. But it soon became clear they were not. So we started leaving cat food out for her. She happily ate it. She continued her pattern of letting me pet her sometimes and not letting touch her at other times. This was frustrating until I made a discovery.
One time when she wouldn't let me touch her I began walking down my street. She followed me at a small distance. I kept going, peeking back to see what she'd do. As if there were some invisible boundary, she stopped at a neighbor's property line and would go no further. I puzzled at this strange behavior, turned around and walked back. She waited, then followed. I had her on an invisible leash!
At some point, I decided to see what she'd do if I let her in the house. She checked the place out for a while. When she was satisfied, she jumped up on my mom's bed, made herself comfy, and fell asleep. When mom came home, I hurriedly put kitty out the back door because I didn't how her napping on mom's bed would go over.
The wooden fence in the backyard has a gap from a tree growing up between one of the slats. She'd slip through it, climb partway up the tree, then look back and meow as if to say, "is this ok?".
As she got a bit older, she came into heat. She'd go around chirping and seeking mates. It was time to take action. We took her to get neutered and she got her shots. She was now ours.
Mom named her Ms Kitty. I just called her Kitty.
She was more fortunate than we realized at the time. Those people in the house across the street kept dogs in their yard. I noticed over the years those dogs had a tendency to escape. It was only much later after my mom moved out that I found out they didn't bother feeding their dogs. I'm not a dog person at all (spend a few nights with me and you'll find out why), but that really disturbed me.
For a while, we let her in and out. She would sit and nap in some strange places. This photo was taken with an early digital camera my mom had. I don't have the original, but I do have this image I scanned from a print.
The internet would later show me other cats slept in weird places too.
Kitty loved to climb up the tall trees in front of one of my neighbor's house. She'd rocket up one, back her way back down, then rocket up another one. Most of those tall trees had to be cut down because the insurance company complained for some reason.
Kitty chased after a bee once and got stung for her effort. I think that paw remained swollen for a week or so.
Kitty certainly loved the autumn leaves.
I remember sitting outside with Kitty. She would explore nearby a bit, then she'd come back periodically and touch her nose to me. Then go off and explore a bit more.
When Kitty wanted inside, she would jump up on the front screen door. The loud racket would alert us, one of us would open the door, and she'd come on in.
Kitty seemed to have an irrational hatred of UPS trucks for some reason. Whenever one was close by, she'd demand to be let in, then growl at the truck.
After a few years, Kitty figured out how to catch birds efficiently. She'd nap in the front bushes, and when a bird came along she'd pounce. This didn't work for me because I had to bury them. She also got to the point where she didn't want to come in very much. This also didn't work for me. She became an indoor cat whether she wanted to or not. She quit asking to go out eventually.
Later, we'd take in two more neglected cats (siblings and still with me) from another neighbor.
I loved her intelligence. She figured out she could open almost closed doors just by standing up and leaning. She figured out the annoying monster in the bed sheets was my hand when she bite the monster, moved her bites up the arm, and then notice I was attached to it. She didn't take the bait after that.
Kitty loved to dive under bed sheets until we took in the two other cats a few years later. One of them would see the lump moving and "attack". Kitty would hiss and run off. She stayed on top of the bed after that.
During the warmer months, I get up in the morning and chances are she'd be in the front window catching the morning sun. During the cooler months, she'd be in my bedroom catching the afternoon sun, and watching the shadows cast by the leaves moving outside.
This gave me the idea to see how she'd like a laser. Turned out she liked it just fine.
The first sign of trouble with Kitty came at her routine exam when she was 11 or 12. She had lost weight. At her next checkup, she had lost weight again. Tests would show her kidney's were weakening. The vet said there was no cure, no treatment. I compensated as best I could by feeding her bigger portions and more often than the other cats.
Kitty did drink more water than the other cats, likely due to her kidney condition. But she liked her water as fresh as possible. I'd refill one water bowl and she'd drink out of it. While she was busy with that water bowl, I'd take the other water bowl, refill it with fresh water, place it back, and she'd switch away from that nasty, stale, seconds old water.
About two or three years ago, she got sick and wouldn't eat for a few days. She got better. But at her next routine exam, her weight was way down. I fed her even more. She gained back some weight. but I had to feed her much more than the others. She also drank much more water than the others. At her last exam in November 2013, she managed to gain a bit more weight.
When people ring my doorbell or knock on the door, the cats always run and hide. Kitty did the same thing too, even when my mom came over. She stopped the hiding routine a few months ago. She'd just stay put. I thought she did that because she now knew it was no big deal. Now I think it because her kidneys or other parts were giving out. At least it gave my mom an opportunity to see Kitty a few weeks before she passed.
Just a few days ago, in late April, she suddenly stopped eating and stopped drinking. Something was wrong, very wrong. I stayed up with her all night Sunday night comforting her, but by Monday morning she was in bad shape. I called the vet's office as soon as they opened and made an early appointment.
I took my tablet with me to take notes on what's to be done to save her. Right away, the vet noticed her liver had failed. He became grim and said he could only add a few days or a week to her life at best. A heart wrenching decision had to be made, and I had to make it. I think I made the right call, but I still feel rotten about it.
It still hurts like heck. I took a photo to mark her last moment, then she was gone. The visit lasted all of 15 minutes at most. If the vet could have promised her a few more months or a year, I would have told him to do it, the wallet is open. I would be willing to eat nothing but noodles and crackers for a time if that's what it took to pay for her treatment. But that's not what happened.
Like I said, I'm writing this down here because I will forget. But now I'll have these words here to read again sometime and not forget. I posted most of my photos of her to Flickr and to Google Photos. Most are public . That way, I'll have a backup in case my hard drive, or my offline backups fail.
Kitty gave me 17 years of joy, and for that I'm thankful. I had hoped she make it to 20, but that wasn't meant to be. This home is not the same without her. I also can't help but think of all the relatives I've lost forever in the last 17 years, and of all the other changes too.
My other cats (the two siblings) are 12 years old, or about 64 in human years according my online sources. May it be a long time before I have to for mourn them too.
She was more fortunate than we realized at the time. Those people in the house across the street kept dogs in their yard. I noticed over the years those dogs had a tendency to escape. It was only much later after my mom moved out that I found out they didn't bother feeding their dogs. I'm not a dog person at all (spend a few nights with me and you'll find out why), but that really disturbed me.
For a while, we let her in and out. She would sit and nap in some strange places. This photo was taken with an early digital camera my mom had. I don't have the original, but I do have this image I scanned from a print.
The internet would later show me other cats slept in weird places too.
Kitty loved to climb up the tall trees in front of one of my neighbor's house. She'd rocket up one, back her way back down, then rocket up another one. Most of those tall trees had to be cut down because the insurance company complained for some reason.
Kitty chased after a bee once and got stung for her effort. I think that paw remained swollen for a week or so.
Kitty certainly loved the autumn leaves.
I remember sitting outside with Kitty. She would explore nearby a bit, then she'd come back periodically and touch her nose to me. Then go off and explore a bit more.
When Kitty wanted inside, she would jump up on the front screen door. The loud racket would alert us, one of us would open the door, and she'd come on in.
Kitty seemed to have an irrational hatred of UPS trucks for some reason. Whenever one was close by, she'd demand to be let in, then growl at the truck.
After a few years, Kitty figured out how to catch birds efficiently. She'd nap in the front bushes, and when a bird came along she'd pounce. This didn't work for me because I had to bury them. She also got to the point where she didn't want to come in very much. This also didn't work for me. She became an indoor cat whether she wanted to or not. She quit asking to go out eventually.
Later, we'd take in two more neglected cats (siblings and still with me) from another neighbor.
I loved her intelligence. She figured out she could open almost closed doors just by standing up and leaning. She figured out the annoying monster in the bed sheets was my hand when she bite the monster, moved her bites up the arm, and then notice I was attached to it. She didn't take the bait after that.
Kitty loved to dive under bed sheets until we took in the two other cats a few years later. One of them would see the lump moving and "attack". Kitty would hiss and run off. She stayed on top of the bed after that.
During the warmer months, I get up in the morning and chances are she'd be in the front window catching the morning sun. During the cooler months, she'd be in my bedroom catching the afternoon sun, and watching the shadows cast by the leaves moving outside.
This gave me the idea to see how she'd like a laser. Turned out she liked it just fine.
The first sign of trouble with Kitty came at her routine exam when she was 11 or 12. She had lost weight. At her next checkup, she had lost weight again. Tests would show her kidney's were weakening. The vet said there was no cure, no treatment. I compensated as best I could by feeding her bigger portions and more often than the other cats.
Kitty did drink more water than the other cats, likely due to her kidney condition. But she liked her water as fresh as possible. I'd refill one water bowl and she'd drink out of it. While she was busy with that water bowl, I'd take the other water bowl, refill it with fresh water, place it back, and she'd switch away from that nasty, stale, seconds old water.
About two or three years ago, she got sick and wouldn't eat for a few days. She got better. But at her next routine exam, her weight was way down. I fed her even more. She gained back some weight. but I had to feed her much more than the others. She also drank much more water than the others. At her last exam in November 2013, she managed to gain a bit more weight.
When people ring my doorbell or knock on the door, the cats always run and hide. Kitty did the same thing too, even when my mom came over. She stopped the hiding routine a few months ago. She'd just stay put. I thought she did that because she now knew it was no big deal. Now I think it because her kidneys or other parts were giving out. At least it gave my mom an opportunity to see Kitty a few weeks before she passed.
Just a few days ago, in late April, she suddenly stopped eating and stopped drinking. Something was wrong, very wrong. I stayed up with her all night Sunday night comforting her, but by Monday morning she was in bad shape. I called the vet's office as soon as they opened and made an early appointment.
I took my tablet with me to take notes on what's to be done to save her. Right away, the vet noticed her liver had failed. He became grim and said he could only add a few days or a week to her life at best. A heart wrenching decision had to be made, and I had to make it. I think I made the right call, but I still feel rotten about it.
It still hurts like heck. I took a photo to mark her last moment, then she was gone. The visit lasted all of 15 minutes at most. If the vet could have promised her a few more months or a year, I would have told him to do it, the wallet is open. I would be willing to eat nothing but noodles and crackers for a time if that's what it took to pay for her treatment. But that's not what happened.
Like I said, I'm writing this down here because I will forget. But now I'll have these words here to read again sometime and not forget. I posted most of my photos of her to Flickr and to Google Photos. Most are public . That way, I'll have a backup in case my hard drive, or my offline backups fail.
Kitty gave me 17 years of joy, and for that I'm thankful. I had hoped she make it to 20, but that wasn't meant to be. This home is not the same without her. I also can't help but think of all the relatives I've lost forever in the last 17 years, and of all the other changes too.
My other cats (the two siblings) are 12 years old, or about 64 in human years according my online sources. May it be a long time before I have to for mourn them too.
