The first pet arrived on the scene way back in 1975 and was a pound kitty named Sylvester. He was really cute and curious. At Christmas time he tried to climb the Christmas tree and knocked it over. I knew that we were in for trouble. Sylvester had alot of attitude and we loved him alot.
Our next cat was a little yellow kitten named Harry. I don't know where we came up with all our pet names, but we weren't very original. We never knew what happened to Harry. He just came up missing one day.
After Harry we did a brief stint into dog ownership. We were actually adopted by a yellow lab mix that we named Sonny. We didn't get to keep Sonny very long. He discovered that our neighbors down the road had chickens and he decided it would be a good idea to kill them. Sonny ended up going to the pound before the neighbor caught him and did something worse to him.
Our next experience as pet owners came when a VERY skinny cat showed up on our doorstep on Christmas Eve, of all times. Michael, the big softie, let her in for the evening since it was pretty darn cold outside. Tigger became "our cat" and it wasn't long before we discovered that she was going to give us her own special Christmas gift.
4 kittens.
They were born on a March afternoon when everyone was gone to work or to school, right in the middle of my bedroom floor. It took awhile to convince her that our closet would be a better spot for her family than the middle of the floor. We promised the girls that they could each pick a kitten to keep and the rest of the family, mom included, were going to go live with a co-worker of mine on their farm. Having 4 kittens in the house was a blast. Once they were old enough to be away from their mom 2 of the kittens and mom left for their new home and we were left with Patches and Koko. Patches belonged to Jen.
And Koko was Cindy's.
They were best buddies.
There is always tragedy in life and our family had two at the same time. My dad had been ill for about a year with Cancer and on Christmas Eve (seems to be a theme in our family) he was hospitalized. We all knew he probably wouldn't be coming home. One evening while we were all at the hospital, I got a call from a sobbing Cindy. The neighborhood bully had injured Koko and they were taking her to the vet. Long story short, the cat had a broken back and died a couple of days later.
My dad died within the week as well. Life isn't always a happy place.
Cindy, of course, asked a couple of weeks later if she could have another cat. We said yes, but probably not right away. Fate of course stepped in and about a month later Fifi arrived at our house. Fifi was probably the coolest cat we have ever had. She was the sole survivor of her litter, mother included. They, unfortunately, froze to death. Again life isn't always a happy place. Fifi was however a very happy cat. We were pretty sure she had some brain damage from her exposure to the elements, but she was very loving and made Cindy very happy.
A second attempt at being dog owners started one afternoon when Michael called me and said "do you mind if I bring a friend home for supper"? I said of course I didn't and went home and made supper not sure who was coming home with Michael, but figuring whoever it was, they would just have to be happy with Hamburger Helper. (We didn't really have hamburger helper that night, but it is something we had alot back then) So, Michael's car pulls into the drive and I absolutely couldn't believe who, or more specifically what, got out of the car. A puppy. And not just any kind of puppy, no, a St. Bernard puppy. Brandy had arrived in our lives and I have never been sorry she came. We had her for eleven of the best years ever. She was, to put it mildly, the best dog in the world!!!
Somehow, while we already had a cat and a dog, we decided to get another cat and Buster arrived on the scene. We were a pretty happy family, until the unexpected happened. Fifi got pregnant. About the time her kittens were due, we discovered that Buster (who turned out to be a Busterette) was also expecting. We didn't end keeping any of the kittens from either litter, but our vet did keep one of Fifi's kittens. We got to see her for quite a few years, every time we visited the vet.
Sadly, we lost Brandy to cancer after eleven happy years.
As our girls grew up and eventunally moved out the pet population at our house changed again. Patches, of course, went to live with Jen and when Cindy moved in with Jen Fifi went to live with them. Leaving us petless. This situation continued for awhile and Michael and I were pretty happy with the situation. The girls, however, decided we were lonely. That's when Kit Kat came into our lives.
Jen's friend April had Kit Kat (then known as Guilty) and she turned out to be allergic. Anyway, we got a new cat that we hadn't really planned on, but we were ok with it. After awhile, Jen and Cindy decided they couldn't handle a house with 2 cats, especially since Jen was very allergic. So, Fifi came back to live with Grandpa and Grandma. 
Fifi and Patches were good buddies.
Life isn't always a happy place, as our pet story seems to tell us. In 2000 my Aunt Emma passed away. She had never married and was a huge part of our lives. There is not one event in my life, big or small, that my Aunt Emma wasn't there. Her passing left a huge hole in our lives and an even larger one in her cat Grey's life. Michael had promised her years ago that she shouldn't worry about Grey. We would take care of her if anything ever happened to Emma. So, Grey came to live with us.
Fifi died of a heart attack one summer day while we were camping and Grey had a stroke and had to be "put down" a couple of years later, leaving us with Kit Kat. Kit Kat just passed away this spring leaving us petless once again and I said, no more pets for me.
That brings us to August 2009 and the arrival of Sugar. I really mean it this time. When she's gone, NO MORE PETS!!!!
Oh yes and somewhere in there we had 2 goldfish, Moby and Dick, and one yellow Canary, whose name sadly I can't remember.
Give your pet a hug and have a good day!!!! :)
2 comments:
#1 Harry would sit on command. What a cool cat!!! I loved him to death!!
#2 Sonny? I don't remember a Sonny!!!
#3 Fifi had stumps for ears, because of frostbite. And she was a narcoleptic. She'd just fall asleep while walking across the living room floor. :-)
#4 I'd totally forgotten about Buster!! :-)
#5 Oh heck...what WAS that bird's name? He would mimic the phone ringing. We'd hear the phone, answer it, but no one was there.
#6 One of Fifi's sibling lived...but was blind. Rachel kept it, and we took Fifi. That cat just wasn't all there....not at all! :-)
# 2 Sonny. You were pretty young, so probaby wouldn't remember him.
# 3 Cindy tried to set her on fire. She'd kill me for posting that, but she did. Fifi was sleeping on the stove (warm spot because of the pilot light) Anyway, Cindy lit the burner and caught her tail on fire.
# 4 We didn't have Buster for too long.
# 5 I had totally forgotten about him mimicing the phone. Still can't remember his name.
# 6 Didn't know another one lived. I remember throwing those little balls at the wall and Fifi would chase them and crash into the wall over and over and over again. Definately not all there.
Do you have any picture of the bird or the fish? I can't find any.
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