IN MEMORY OF KITTY

This page is dedicated to the memory of Kitty. 

He was just a National City alley cat who one day in 1994 showed up in our side yard, attracted by my wife's bird feeder.  We expected him to soon be on his way but as the weeks progressed Kitty hung around, he was amazingly social, and in time he became a part of our family.  We never renamed him from his temporary name, Kitty... we became comfortable with it.  We found it impossible not to love him. 

He lived with us for 15 years... from 1994 to 2009... until we lost him March 29, 2009. 

That was less than a week of the writing of this tribute and my wife and I are deeply stung by his loss.  Today we received his ashes.  The pain is so fresh...

We have never resolved the incongruity of Kitty's amiable personality and love of people with the fact that he was an alley cat.  After all, alley cats are tough, independent, indifferent to humans.  Not Kitty.  Judging by his behavior with us he was a thoroughly socialized cat.  That means during his kitten-hood he associated with someone or perhaps a family... people who obviously loved him and fussed over him. 

But where in the neighborhood did he come from?  Who were these people who spoiled and loved him?  When we first "adopted" Kitty (more accurately, he adopted us), no one ever came up to us and said, "Hold it a minute!  That's my cat!"  Nor did anyone ask us, "Have you seen a grey calico in the neighborhood?  He's our cat and now he's gone missing!"  We never figured out which house he originated from.  We asked around but no one we spoke to recognized him.

It makes me realize that Kitty's entrance into our lives was fate: if we didn't live in National City when we did, in that specific house in that specific neighborhood, we likely would never have made his acquaintance.  Kitty was God's gift to us for which we shall be forever grateful.

Soon after we befriended Kitty we took him to the vet to ensure he had his shots and to get a report card on his overall health.  We found out 2 things: (1) his age was estimated as between 3 to 6 years and (2) he'd been neutered.  Again, a cat that had been in the neighborhood for up to 6 years... beautifully taken care of... friendly and loving... now wandering the alley and no one looking for him?

Our theory is that he'd been owned by a man or woman of advanced years, someone who fussed over and loved Kitty, patting him while he ate, inviting him to come along as they puttered in the garden.  That person either died or was placed in a nursing home, and when the grown kids came to clear out the house to either rent it or sell it they chased the cat. 

To test that theory we asked people in our neighborhood about who may have died or had been placed in a home in 1994.  No one we spoke to was aware of any such person.

Thus, for reasons we still don't entirely understand Kitty became our cat.

Kitty was full of fun and energy for so many years but within the last few he began to slow down.  Finally, beginning early March 2009, it was apparent his life was winding to a close. 

I won't go into the awful details... it hurts too much to think about it.  I will say that on his last Saturday, March 28, 2009, we spent the day sitting with him; he was confined to a mat in our bedroom unable to walk.  He purred, he meowed beautifully for my wife (she was his favorite), he still had appetite... but the quality of his life wasn't much good for a cat.  The following day his condition worsened until finally we called a vet who was willing to come to our home and relieve Kitty of his suffering.

Now Kitty is gone.

Kitty, I miss your purrs.  I miss your good temperament.  I miss your infectious chirping meows indicating your happiness.  I miss your sharp indignant meows expressing your displeasure.  I miss knowing you're sleeping in the backyard, or in the living room on your favorite pillow or chair.  I miss giving you water from the hose, the flow had to be just right.  I miss talking to you as I passed by; and I miss that you always answered me.  I miss you leading me to the kitchen to your food dish while impatiently demanding your Evo, or Avoderm, or Fancy Feast or whatever latest food the vet said you should have.  I miss your lovely "good morning" purrs; morning was always your favorite time of the day.  I miss you insisting on our attention and sitting in our laps, purring and kneading your soft enormous paws.  I miss your love.

I miss you, Kitty.  I miss you.

April 2, 2009

(Back to home)

This video of Kitty demanding his dinner is from February 27, 2009, about one month before we lost him.  Kitty, I pray they have Avoderm and Fancy Feast in Kitty Heaven.

This video is from December 17, 2008.  My sister-in-law was preparing Christmas presents (stuff bound for family in the Philippines) and this bit of ribbon happened to be hanging in front of Kitty... how could he resist?  As you can see, despite his old age he was still a playful Kitty.

This video is from March 9, 2009.  We were very concerned about his problems climbing the steps.  We were terrified that one day he might fall off the porch (thank God that never happened!).  My wife made this video so she could show it to the vet.