A Tail of Two Kitties

Actually, a tale of all my cats, but I couldn't resist that title!

So, I am a cat person. A cat lady. Am I a crazy cat lady? Well, that is for others to sort out, I guess. I have had a cat, or cats, pretty much my entire life since I was four years old. My family had them while I was growing up, I had them after leaving home, and there were always cats at my grandma’s house. And let me tell you, they were the most important people in her house. I remember Smokey, a big, long-furred gray cat who lived to be about eighteen years old. If you were at Grandma’s house, had the nerve to sit in Smokey’s Chair, and he came up to you and stared you in the eye…. you got right up out of that chair and watched as Smokey cozily settled in to it. And then you probably had to sit on the floor, as it was a small house. But we all knew…you didn’t mess with Smokey’s Chair.

My grandma carrying Smokey home from his adventure in the field across the road

Stopping now to think about all the cats I’ve owned and loved, I’ve come up with a grand total of nine who’ve allowed me to share their home. Oh yes, they did the sharing. If you are a cat-owner, you know just what I’m saying. If you’re not a cat-owner, the rumors you’ve heard are true! But even though I’ve loved all of them with all my heart, two of my cats have had a very special, soul mate, get-out-of-my-chair place in my heart.

First, there was Madeline, a big orange and white tabby who had the most patient, loving soul in the entire cat world. She would lounge around on her back and let my small daughters dress her up in doll clothes and then she’d go take a nap in the sun. Nothing bothered this cat, and I adored her. She even slept with her head lying on mine at night as I fell asleep listening to her soft purring in my ear. As she got older it was discovered that she had a cardio myopathy – a heart issue. In fact, when it was discovered, I was told she was not expected to live long and to be prepared to say goodbye. I was devastated. She stayed at the vet’s office for about a week after this diagnosis just lying in her cage, and I visited her every day, not expecting her to ever return home. There was no choice with that visitation schedule for me, I had to be there for her every day – she was my Madeline. One day I went into the vet’s office to find her up walking around, rubbing the sides of the cage, and purring her heart out. The vets could not believe it. She wasn’t supposed to survive. She even got written up in a veterinary publication at Iowa State because of her recovery. They sent her home with me saying to expect no more than six months with her. My instruction was to give her half an aspirin every day to keep her with me for as long as possible, and thankfully she lived for two more years. Actually, she lived long enough that I kind of forgot that she had a heart issue. And then when she did leave, it was from a heart attack as she was walking right behind me, because she followed me everywhere. She was right there, and then she wasn’t. I still miss the love and soul of that cat so much. She was the best.

Madeline was the most loving and patient cat in the Cat World

And then there was Chloe….

Oh, Chloe. Just the sound of her name could instill fear into the hearts of children and adults alike. Chloe was my best buddy and soul mate for sixteen years. Yes, soul mate. Even though she was (just) a cat. But there was no ‘just’ in that relationship for me. Chloe was a beautiful long-furred Siamese. I always said I would never own a Siamese because they can be a bit high maintenance – OK, really high maintenance. Yet somehow when I found myself with the most adorable cream and brown colored kitten in my hand, I just couldn’t bring myself to put her down. And then she turned into the most gorgeous… and meanest… cat I ever met! Chloe had attitude. As a friend said, “It’s her lane and she wants everyone to know she’s driving!” Yep, that was Chloe. She liked no one. Except for me, whom she loved. Maybe she would tolerate you for a moment, but you’d better keep your distance. And that was if you were one of the lucky chosen ones, who were few and far between. For most folks, she had no time. None. And she’d let you know. But from the first time I picked her up as a kitten and she clung to my shoulder as she snarled at a woman who was trying to take her from me, we knew that we were meant for each other. We’d chosen each other and would stay together for her entire life. We went through a lot of life events together. Some good and some really tough. But we always had each other’s backs. We talked about anything and everything. And sometimes she got snippy with me, but we settled it quickly. People I dated had to pass the Chloe Test. If they didn’t like her or were not willing to gain her trust, out they went. We were a package deal. Chloe…me…you got both of us or neither of us. She never snarled at my husband when we were dating, so that was a clue I had to take note of, and eventually they became pretty good buddies. I had to say goodbye to Chloe a little over a year ago and I just miss her so much. I miss our conversations, the way she always laid on the back of the couch just above my head when I watched TV in the evenings, how she slept on my feet at night, and yes, even her snarliness. A lot of days we had that snarliness in common and we understood that about each other. I really don’t know if anyone else would have tolerated her and her attitude. But I did, and I believe I gave her the best Chloe home possible, while she gave me the gift of a beautiful cat-buddy for a long time.

Chloe was gorgeous, my buddy, and as snarly as they come!

About a month after losing Chloe, my husband and I decided our home was just not complete without a cat…or two. Enter Kiki and Torri. I’d had two cats at the same time before, but this was a first for him. We made the decision one Sunday morning to head out to our local Animal Rescue League in search of two kitties. Why not have two? They could keep each other company if we were gone and we’d be giving two cats a good home. We wanted to find a pair of “bonded buddies,” cats who already knew and loved each other. But we were not able to find a pair that worked for us…one liked us, but the other one didn’t, maybe one was calm, but the other one was snarly (and with all due respect to Chloe, I was kind of ready to move on from that)…so for various reasons we only found one that was a perfect match – Kiki. She was turned in as a stray and is a 4-year-old round-tummy tortoise shell with very thick fur and the energy of a kitten. But we still wanted two cats, and the folks at the ARL said she got along well with other cats in the shelter. So the goal was to find another one who could be her pal. Off we headed to a satellite location of the ARL, a local pet supply store. There we discovered a 4-year-old muted calico, who had just arrived at the ARL a couple of days earlier. She had been turned in by an owner who was not able to care for her, and no one said it, but I think it was not an ideal cat situation. She had just been separated from her kittens, who were no longer tiny, and had just been spayed. She was not in a good cat place. But I loved her immediately and knew that she needed to be saved - I thought Kiki needed a home, but I thought Torri needed to be saved. I had to take Torri home. I had never adopted a pet before. Let alone two at the same time. All my cats had been acquired as kittens, so they grew up with me. We knew each other’s quirks and sounds and personalities. But first off, we had to give Torri a name. Coincidentally, we had just seen the musical Cats at the Civic Center the day before we found her. The sleek white cat in the play who is so kind and beautiful is named Victoria. So…she became Victoria…Torri for short. Once we got home, Torri stayed in my office for about a week, away from Kiki and the scary big space that was the entire house. We hung out in that room with her all the time, convincing her that we really were OK humans and that she was safe. We followed all the rules about cats meeting each other by rubbing each cat with a cloth and then switching cloths, so they got used to each other’s scent and letting them hear each other through the closed door. And then it was time for them to meet. Yikes! How would it go? We only had one chance to get this right. We opened my office door, towels in hand ready to throw over them just in case a giant cat fight broke out in the kitchen, but it worked out perfectly. They accepted each other with a few sniffs and long who-are-you? cat looks. And then they became the best of gal-pals. We are all so lucky. Us – and the cats. They have brought so much joy and fun into our home. And on their end, they have gotten (too) fat (per recent lecture from the vet – diet time!) and spend the day chasing their favorite toys or sleeping in the sunshine.

Kiki, Torri with her favorite fish toy, and both of them enjoying some sunshine-nap time

The other cats I’ve had were also very special to me: Nosy was my first cat that I got when I was four years old. Why was he named Nosy? Well, he was gray with a white stomach, white paws, and….wait for it…a white nose! The genius of a four-year-old’s naming ability. Then there was Gretchen, a tuxedo cat (black and white with a little black dot on her white chin – yes, I refrained from naming her Chinny.) There was Lissa, a long-furred black kitten I could not resist that I got as a friend for Madeline in her later years, however Madeline was not impressed. And then there were Alyce and Lyzzie – sister kittens: a long-furred grey and a long-furred black both of hefty weight with tons of fur, which amazed us because their mom cat was a little five-pound short-furred thing. We decided she must have had some exotic boyfriend! They were obtained when a friend’s cat had unexpected kittens, and I was besieged with “But your girls would love a kitten,” messages from said friend. Well. One cannot take TWO little girls to pick out ONE kitten. Nope. So we became the very excited owners of two new and very excited kittens. Let me tell you, those kittens were wild! They chased each other so hard that they knocked artwork off the walls. But they were so much fun, and we loved them so much. As life would have it, they ended up living with my oldest daughter for the latter half of their lives. Very happily. As the Cat-Spoiler Gene runs deep in our family.

So, I have loved all of my cats with my whole heart, but there has never been another cat with Madeline’s soul, and there was only one Chloe (for which many people are probably thankful). And …ooops…. I wanted to write more, but Kiki wants my chair… gotta go….

Kiki wants my chair….gotta go!