Growing up we didn't have any pets. Sure we had a hamster here, a goldfish there but they didn't last long; and were never replaced. It wasn't something I really wanted, as a matter of fact I had a deep distrust of cats & dogs. Until Kitty came along. When Steve & I lived in Texas one morning I opened the door to find Kitty sitting on the fence, she came inside and never left. I swear Kitty was a Dead-head in a former life, this was the mellowest cat I've ever seen. When we moved back to NY we decided that Kitty needed a companion so we found Junior in a local shelter. And then came Mushball, who, was, quite the mushball. A few years later I had to put Jr. to sleep so back to the pound I went (this had to be around '90 or '91). There were 3 rooms full of cats and the pound lady told us not to stress too much on picking a cat, that a cat would pick us. Immediately a little gray striped cat came running over to us. I really wasn't interested in getting a young cat, so I kinda ignored him, instead trying to interest some other cats. But this little bugger was persisent and soon Tiger was firmly entrenched in my household. He was a real beast, but in a good natured way. Petting him was a real adventure and you left your toes exposed at your own risk. Fast forward a few years & it was time to say goodbye to Kitty. At that time I had kinda inherited my (ex) boyfriends cat so the cat count remained at three. Then I had to put Mush to sleep, I was devasted, as she was my baby. Tiger & Jimi got along farily well, Tiger for all his bluster, was a real lover. When Jimi had to be put down & it was just me & Tiger you could see how much he missed having other cats around. So back to the pound for Honi. And that's where we stand now cat-wise. Except that I can see that time is catching up to Tiger. And that makes me so so sad. He's been with me for so long, is such a big part of my life I can't imagine life without him. Even when he's being a pain in my ass & trying to eat the food off my plate. Or hogging the bed (you'd be surprised how much space a cat can take up). I know the day is coming sooner rather later and I want to cry just thinking about it.
