Thursday, March 25, 2010

Cat In The House No More

Pesach this year marks the one year anniversary of the loss of our Baby Kitty. No, he did not succumb and meet his Maker, but we had to give him away. Our new neighbor is allergic to cats, and as the owner of the duplex, had a say in who lives here. That say meant Baby Kitty had to go.

Six years ago, we had a serious mice and rat problem. The pest control man called in tried to explain rodent psychology to me (picture me standing there, mouth agape, wondering if this guy was a serial killer in disguise). So I unilaterally made a decision to get a cat (I love cats) as rat psychology wasn't working. My son Matti requested a short-haired white cat, and so I went on Craig's List. Viola! In those days, pets could be listed as free, so off I went to UCLA with my 4 and 2 year old children to check out the free cat.

The students who owned BK had finished their Master's degrees and were moving. They had two cats, and decided to keep the other one. My two small children ran to the low table BK sat on and started aggressively petting him and screaming in delight. In return, he purred. I decided to take him right then.

The first night at home, he hid under the bed. Night 2, his first kill. Night 3, his second. Truth be told, this cat was giving me some serious nachas (Yiddish for joy). We remained mouse and rat free for the next five years.

BK was the most amazing cat, and loved by all. He was also quite large, weighing in at 19 pounds when we first got him. I put him on a diet, meaning measuring out his food, and he leveled out at 17.5 pounds. He spent the day sleeping, and the night bed hopping, sleeping with anyone who left their door open. That included guests. Neighbor children loved him too, and he was kind and gentle to all. To many, he seemed a higher soul. We were truly blessed.

We were BK's third owners, and from all reports, his fourth owners love him as much or more than we did. I'm sending you my love, BK, and prayers for long life. Thank you for being such a great companion to my family.

2 comments:

  1. He'll always be my baby. He's the standard all future (G-d willing) cats will be judged in our family.

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