Today, I lost my favorite best friend. Not my human best friend, but my 4 legged best friend. Of course I have 5 other best friends that all rank number one as well. Almost every day I tell all my kitties they are my number one best friend. They give me so much on a daily basis, I figure why not flatter them and boost their ego's.
My first cat , Princess Peekaboo, aka Kitty Kitty, was a kitten rescued from the side of the road where her siblings had all been hit by cars. She was only about 4 weeks old and could not be adopted for 2 weeks yet. It just so happened I was in the pet store when she was brought in by the lady who rescued her. It must have been fate. I had to take her home! I left my name with the adoption agency to call when she was ready to come home. When they called, there were 2 other people waiting to see if I was going to show, so they could have a chance at adopting her. Boy am I glad I was by the phone that day!
She was very shy, to the point of paranoia. She was primarily Siamese. We used to call her the invisible cat. She knew if someone was coming up the walk and would growl long before the doorbell rang, and when it did, she was already running as low to the ground as possible across the floor trying to be invisible while she got away.
As she got older she developed this 'addition' to her abdomen that could only be described as two boobs. They were kind of loose, and when she stood, they hung down and kind of jiggled. However when she would run, or in her case, trot , they would swing from side to side. This was a most hilarious event to witness. Of course she would be very affronted by our raucous laughter, which would only make her run faster, and us laugh even harder. In her early years she could move with lightening speed. Probably so my sister couldn't catch her!
She was an excellent mouser. Often we would find half eaten mice in the house, always the back half, and twice had to take away a live mouse from her! Dennis likes to give the cats nicknames. Skidmark, Sushi..Kitty Kitty earned the nickname Snakebite. She would snap at your hand if you were playing too much, tickling her, or in the case of my sister Teresa, all she had to do was pet Kitty Kitty to get the 'snakebite'. Despite the nickname, she never really bit anyone, she just made sure you felt her teeth on your hand, but Teresa would sometimes get as far as a pinch.
As shy as she was around others, she was twice as affectionate to the family. Often I would wake in the middle of the night to find her cuddled up next to me. She always knew when I was upset about something, and was the first to come sit in my lap in an attempt to give some comfort. As our cat family grew over the years, she never hesitated to greet the newcomer with a hiss ,a growl, and sometimes a slap on the head, enough to establish who the real boss was, and that would be that, they were friends.
Her favorite season was Christmas, so she could climb the tree and slap the ornaments until they went smashing to the floor. It only took us one year to learn you don't put glass ornaments on the tree, or place the tree near a tile floor! She developed a real talent for gaining weight, and eventually her tree climbing days were over. After that, you could find her under the tree on the velvet skirt, leaving cat hair everywhere. speaking of leaving cat hair behind, she was the best. You would find her in the sock basket, on the laundry, in the laundry, in the closet on the shelves, and even the dinning room cushions.
She loved to mooch kitty treats from you, but was very patient to wait her turn when it came to handouts from the table, especially salmon and chicken.
One of my favorite things was to get all five kitties on the bed at once. That was the ultimate for me. I have a picture of Dennis asleep with all five cats also on the bed. This is my family picture I have posted on Face book!
She was very smart. When I was working from home, she would visit me at my desk and walk back and forth in front of the monitor. I managed to teach her to not step on my keyboard keys, but couldn't quite get her to stop at one pass in front of the monitor. If she wanted attention, she got it. She didn't earn the title 'Princess' for nothing.
One last story: We bought one of those cardboard scratchers one day, and set it out when we got home. Later we went out again. When we returned, the kitchen floor was covered in catnip! I had accidentally left my supply of catnip on the kitchen table. Dennis was convinced it was Smokie who had gotten into and scattered the catnip. I maintained it was Kitty Kitty. Neither cat was to be found. While we were cleaning up, Kitty Kitty casually walked past the kitchen literally covered in catnip, as if she had been in the sandwich sized bag with it. Mystery solved.
Although I have been richly blessed to have this princess in my life, there is a large hole in my heart tonight not having her here next to me. My other cats know there is something, or someone amiss, and are trying very hard to fill in and help dry my tears.
Of course they will succeed. You see, they are all my favorites.
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