About 17 years ago the planets aligned in my favor. I was finally going to get my own kitten. While visiting my grandma down at the ranch I was told that if I could catch one, I could take my own kitten home. As a 4 year old I was determined to find the one... I spend the whole weekend hunting kittens in order to catch the little feisty black one...
The rest is pretty much history. I caught him the last morning that weekend and I got to take him home. I dubbed him "Midnight", then "Winkie" (after the black cat starring in the Escape to Witch Mountain, my favorite movie at the time). The only thing that he actually answered to was Kitty. So we gave up naming him and just called him "Kitty."
He was quite the controversy in the neighborhood, at least among the kids... I remember a particular incident of telling one of the annoying neighborhood boys (who told me letting him cross my path was bad luck) that in was only bad luck if you didn't own him... and he would avoid that cat for weeks afterward...
The cat was often found sleeping on the dryer on the clean clothes, in the middle of the floor in the sun, or (his favorite spot) mom's lap. Whether she was on her computer, working on church things, standing up every 3 minutes... he would try to take his nap on mom's lap (or computer as it were...)
Family prayer included the entire family at times... :) We went through 11 or 12 lives with this cat. I will always remember the trip to the vet after his face got infected. Dad and I had to fill out the paperwork... we didn't know how old he was... or what his official name was... so "Kitty" became his official name a few years ago...
He's been a part of the family for almost as long as my brother... and sometimes we believe he's more endeared to mother than my brother too... ;) (just kidding! Love you Ben!) He'll always be known for that pink tongue that he couldn't seem to keep in his mouth... and his half effort to get the string if it was sitting on his nose... He liked to sit at the glass door and stare at himself, recently he just liked to sit on the flip flop mat...
Last Saturday our lovable Kitty did not come home... and we have yet to see him. Knowing how many extra lives God (and the Vet) have given him, it is time to say goodbye. Officially. So goodbye old friend. We'll miss your craziness around the house and that pink tongue of yours. Here's to all the good memories, the funny moments, and the drool spots... Rest in peace my old friend.
I think your cat is listening. He loved you for all those great years of care and love.
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