My Kitty-Girl

On Friday, September 16th we said good-bye to our four-legged furry family member, Patsy.  She was my kitty-girl for 14 years, so this has been difficult for me especially. 

A scan from my 2004 scrapbook

I adopted her (but then she adopted me back) in October 1997.  I was just 20 years old, had just moved to Tucson, and felt very much alone in the world.  I think we needed each other more than we knew during those first few years together.  She was very shy, but then also could be quite snobby.  She preferred to be alone, and if you tried to pet or cuddle her too much, she had an adorable "chirp" that would escape her throat -- I'd never heard anything like it from cat before, and haven't since.  My roommate Melissa, who ended up being like a second mama to Patsy, liked to taunt her (along with me) with many cuddles and hugs, just to hear her chirpy protests.  We called her "Pissy Patsy."  But we loved her, and she loved us, too.  She just liked to cuddle on her own terms.  Unfortunately, her terms were usually when we were trying to do homework, and included laying on top of our papers and books, exactly where we were trying to read and work.  I think of all the time I spent procrastinating on homework because petting and playing with the kitty was just so much more interesting than pre-calculus or economics, and sometimes even my beloved French homework!  (and I majored in French!)

Sitting under the grill on the patio - she always looked so pretty in the sun.

What was it that made Patsy so special?  A hundred different things.  She was a beautiful dark grey kitty with a white tummy and white "boots" on all four legs.  She had a grey nose and grey paw pads - I thought they were much prettier than pink ones.  She had big round, golden eyes.  She didn't like to be bothered much - she was quite stand-off-ish, unless it was a very inconvenient time for me to have her wanting to cuddle (i.e., while doing homework, or trying to sleep, or years later, while nursing my babies!).  She loved to lick plastic.  Yes, plastic.  Plastic bags, plastic wrapping, plastic toys, plastic anything!!  She liked yogurt.  She loved the water from the canned tuna; I always made sure to save it for her whenever I made tuna casserole or tuna salad.  She liked Bryan's sweaty work-out clothes; they were like cat-nip to her!  She'd roll around in them like she was loopy from drugs.  She liked to sleep in the bathroom sink.  She also liked to sleep with her face tucked into Bryan's shoes.

Playing with Oden, our friendly bathroom window gecko.  I don't think he ever knew she was there.

She loved iced water.  Especially in a glass, nice and fresh.  She thought it was for her.  It was as if she said "Oh, thank you, I was waiting for this!" with the look she'd give me, and then she'd proceed to lick the ice and drink the water.  There was a period of time when, at night, I made sure I had a glass of water on my nightstand just for Patsy -- not even for myself!  And if I forgot, she let me know about it.  She'd crawl all over my head and chest, purring loudly and licking my face, until I got up out of my comfy bed and got the glass of water for her. 

Stealing my iced water

She wasn't spoiled at all.

Patsy was 10 years old when Benjamin joined our family.  She never quite forgave us for that.  I clearly remember (since it was only about four years ago) coming into the house, home from four days in the hospital and limping from a C-section.  Patsy came gallopping down the hall, so excited to see me, but when she heard the crying baby in the carseat, she screeched to a halt, shot me a look that said "Traitor!!" and turned and ran down the hall, back to our bedroom.  She hid there until she realized that that was where the tiny invader was going to be sleeping, too.  Then she was really miffed at us and removed herself to the guest bedroom.  We didn't see much of her for days. 

She used to give Daddy cards for holidays - here she is with him on Valentine's day 2007.  She was so excited, can't you tell?

An excerpt from our 2005 scrapbook -- oh yeah, she ruled the roost before the kiddos came along.

But she wasn't too upset when we brought Sam home almost two years later.  She was used to Ben toddling around, his awkward but loving pats, and loud noises.  She even liked Sam from the very beginning.  I remember she licked his head while I was nursing him on the couch one night.  Then she turned around in her usual three circles and settled down, right up against us.

a sticker in one of my scrapbooks - this is totally how I felt

The boys loved her, and she grew to like them in a tolerant, "you're-okay-because-you-give-me-treats" kind of way.  In her last year, she had to live in the workshop off the garage, because she took to doing her business in very inappropriate places around the house.  Part of it was her personal protest against the boys, and part of it was her blindness and hip problems.  She loved it in the garage, though -- the boys couldn't bother her much, she had many hidey-holes to curl up in, and she had a view through an outside vent where she could sit and watch the backyard world.  When the boys did come out (normally when I would do laundry, since the washer/dryer are also located in the workshop) they always sat and petted her and gave her treats.  She loved those times.  Then she'd suddenly be "done", and get up and go hide in a hard-to-reach spot again. 

Another scrapbook excerpt - here she was on the guest bed.  We always had to re-wash the bedding before guests arrived!

Patsy was such a big part of our lives.  Looking back through my scrapbooks, she is all throughout the pages.  Sometimes there are entire layouts devoted to just her.  It was heart-breaking to watch her age, and then become ill and eventually die.  We believe she died of kidney failure.  And we are thankful that she did not appear to suffer for long, and that we were able to say good-bye to her and shower her with love before she passed away.  She died a very happy kitty-girl, and peacefully at home.  I'm so thankful for that, too.

We love you, Patsy.  We won't "replace" you anytime soon, not that any other kitty could ever replace you, anyway.  You will be missed and talked about for many, many years. 

Lounging on our bed sometime in 2007 or 2008.  It was actually her bed and she just let us sleep on it at night.

I wonder when I'll be able to do the laundry again without crying.  Probably not for a while.