I Lost One Of My Best Freinds Today

I wrestled with putting this blog up tonight. At first I never gave it a second thought, but then I thought of everyone that lost so much in Katrina and I decided not too. Finally, after bouncing back and forth I decided to go ahead and put this up. I know my loss is so small compared with those that have lost everything, and in a way I feel selfish even talking about it, but still, I remember, that our lives must too go on. If our lives don't go on, if we don't deal with our pains and our hurts now, how can we help those who need help with their hurts, their pains, in the future? We must continue to not bottle up our pains and our hurts now or we'll all be in big trouble in the future.

This morning at around 7:00 a.m. I received one of those calls that you really never want to receive. My wife got back to our house at about that time and found my best pet friend for the past ten years, Miss Kitty, dead in our driveway. My wife was crushed. My wife immediately picked up Miss Kitty and with the love that only a mother has, so gently wrapped up Miss Kitty so that no others would have to see her lifeless body.

My wife after taking care of Miss Kitty went inside and called me to tell me what happened. After filling me in on what happened we both just took a few moments and cried. One might ask why one would cry over loosing a cat. I would have to say it's more then just loosing a cat or an animal companion even. It's that Miss Kitty and I have been through so much together. Let me fill you in a little bit on what our lives have been through in the past ten years.

In February of 1995 we were living in a mobile home just outside of Dodge City, KS. We were having one of those mean old Kansas blizzards one day that month. I went outside to check on our chickens and other poultry. As I stepped into the chicken shed I looked down and here was this black little fur ball looking up at me. I reached down to pick it up and it hissed and tried to sink its claws & teeth into me. I was wearing insulated overalls and big thick welder’s gloves. I don't know if a bobcat could have got through all of the clothing and stuff I had on but I do know this little kitten didn't have a prayer! As this black little fur ball continued to try to tear me up, I just said "Yea, right" and I just chuckled and took this kitten back into this house.
When we got into the house with my wife & kids we could see that this little kitten was starving and very malnourished. We heated up a small bowl of milk and set it on the floor. That little kitten dove into that bowl of milk like a fish diving into water. It was hilarious watching that little kitten standing there with it's two front paws planted firmly in that bowl of milk gulping milk down for all it was worth!

Finally, that little kitten was so full it could hardly walk! I reached down and picked that kitten up this time bare handed and held it to my chest. Instantly, that little kitten became tame! Heck, I think looking back, it became an instant lap cat, but more about that in a minute.

We started examining this little kitten and found first of all that it's long black hair was full of stickers. I think it took us two days to finally get all of the stickers out of its coat! Next we found out the kitten was a girl. We needed a new name for this kitty. We wanted a name that was unique. It hit me and I said "Hey! Since we live in Dodge City, the home of Gunsmoke, Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty, let's name her MISS KITTY!" Everyone loved it and Miss Kitty was her name!

Miss Kitty really never did grow up fully. Miss Kitty only got to be about two-thirds the size of a normal cat. Apparently Miss Kitty was the runt of the litter, but that didn't bother us, we loved her anyway. I tried everything I could to put weight on Miss Kitty. I kept her on expensive kitten food for a whole year. Most cats would have ballooned out fat on that stuff but not Miss Kitty. After a year on that diet, Miss Kitty only gained a few ounces. We finally accepted that we just had a scrawny, lovable, black hair-balled lap cat!
It was a rough time living in Dodge City. I was fight depression and bi-polar mood swings real bad. I was not a nice guy when I was on one end of my mood swings or the other. With all of the undiagnosed problems I was having, stability was no where to be found, except in just thing, my cat, Miss Kitty. I could be totally foul, totally manic, totally depressed, or any combination thereof and it didn't matter, as soon as I came through the door, Miss Kitty was there for me, always giving me love, even when I didn't deserve it.

In 1996 my wife had all she could stand and divorced me. I went into terrible depression. There were days I wouldn't leave the house. I really think that if had not been for Miss Kitty being there to comfort me and to be my "therapy pet cat" I may not be here today. Through it all, Miss Kitty was there for me. I know that I know that God sent Miss Kitty into our lives to be there for me when no one else could even stand to be close to me.

In 1999 after a great deal of counseling, my wife and I were remarried. It was tough the first few months of our marriage trying to get to sleep with each other. Miss Kitty knew that she was my cat or should I say that Miss Kitty knew that I was her person! Miss Kitty had to sleep between us or so she thought. I'm not sure that Miss Kitty wanted to share me with my wife! In fact it was this way of and on since 1999. A couple of nights ago Miss Kitty once again came and jumped up on our bed, nestled right in between my wife and me and went right to sleep! The good news is that now we have a king size bed and we have the room and we're used to it!

Miss Kitty never met a lap she didn't like! If you sat down in my easy chair, it was pretty much automatic, you also had Miss Kitty in your lap! I never ceased to get a kick out of the looks on peoples faces when "Poof!" they had a cat on their lap loving on them! Some of the regular guests to our home knew not to sit in my easy chair or else!

I praise God for the ten years I had the pleasure of having Miss Kitty as my cat or me as her person. I praise God for loving me enough to send me a cat to show me his love before I knew I even needed it. I praise God for sending me a pet to give me therapy enough to survive on to this day. Miss Kitty was an awesome cat and will be very missed.

The one consoling fact I have is that I know that as God even worked his love through Miss Kitty. God will continue to work to show me his love in everyone and even every pet that he sends into my life. Looking back, I know that God taught me a great deal about his love through Miss Kitty, really He did. And I know that since God never changes, I will look forward to the ways in which God will show me His love in the future

Miss Kitty 1995-2005