Katya
We lost our oldest kitty, Katya, on June 7. She had been diagnosed with cancer about six months before, and had done pretty well for most of that time. I’ll always be grateful for that time with her – knowing you’re going to lose someone, whether it be animal or person, makes it so much easier to appreciate the time with them. When she started to go downhill, we knew it was time to give her a 
peaceful exit.
Katya was a sweet cat; the closest thing we had to a “lap cat” (actually, she preferred to sit on my chest while I was lying in bed, trying to read). She was, nonetheless, an imperfect (cat)woman. She was kind of whiny; we used to liken her to a sulky teenager who seemed to always feel like she was getting the short end of the stick (she’d stare at you balefully if she caught you petting one of the other cats).
One of her biggest “imperfections” (or should I say “impurrfections” – yuk yuk) was a strange habit she developed at some point in her middle years. She would use her paw to move the cat food dishes on the kitchen floor; they’d start out against the wall, out of the way, and slowly morph their way to the center of the floor, perfectly placed for being stepped on or inadvertently kicked in the middle of the night (if we were really lucky, the dish would be full of dry kibble that would go flying everywhere). Her reasons for doing this were entirely mysterious, and attempts to discourage the practice by changing the type of food dish, putting the dishes on a rubber mat, etc., were all unsuccessful.
Katya, I miss you. ~ Jennie
Simba Kittykins
We recently adopted a little kitten who my daughter christened Simba Kittykins. The kitten is a doll, and like her momma, she was one of a batch born on my porch. However, her momma was born feral and there was no touching.
Momma’s siblings scattered, but she made my porch a partial home and became more friendly. As time passed, she decided she liked being petted and quit hissing at us. So, when Simba was born, we were able to tame the litter and find homes for all the kittens. The neighborhood kids were more than willing to hold them and get the furry little things accustomed to us giant scary people.
The last thing I wanted was a cat, but she stole our hearts. I am much more of a dog person. Plus, I have an older cat who is the queen of the house and I wasn’t sure how it would affect her. We also have a Cocker-Shih Tzu (named Nibbles) and he would like nothing more than to shake a kitten really hard. The first few weeks, we had to keep Simba separate from Nibbles to keep her safe. To my surprise, he now sees her as a friend and wants to play. Simba’s still a little too
intimidated to participate much, but I believe they are going to be great friends.
One day, I turned on cat videos to see if she would watch. She was intrigued and then decided to take a nap. I know a lot of cats are problematic in walking across the keyboards. She sees it as a good place to lay down her head. Simba is very playful and shows her wild side streaking across the house jumping from chair to chair. She cracks me up thinking she is powerfully stealth when slinking low under a chair. She truly believes we can’t see her as she readies to leap and pounce at our feet. She is also sweetly loving. When Simba wants to cuddle she will nuzzle your cheek and gently put her paws up on your face. It’s darling, but all I can think is those paws were in the litter box. What can I say? I got suckered in by love and cuteness and my daughter is thrilled to have a pet that sleeps on her bed. ~ Lily
Hampton
Hampton is the newest addition to our family. We weren’t sure how he would get along with the other cat and two dogs we have but he’s settled himself right in. He’s even taught our other cat that drinking out of a sink faucet is better than from the water bowl. He’s demanding. He’s sassy. And he can give dirty looks like no other animal I’ve ever met. He also likes it rough. Petting that is. Get your mind out of the gutter! ~ Jen
Buster
Imperfect pet? You bet!
Buster has been with us since he was just an 8 week old, “free to a good home” kitten. He has been perpetually hungry, whining, and drawn to the forbidden counter tops for 9 years. We got him to keep the field mice away from the house, but the only thing he has managed to catch are baby bunnies, baby songbirds, and fleas. Our dwarf hamster (RIP Tippy) terrified him. When we got a puppy he refused to come up from our basement for 6 months and developed bulimia. He expanded from 10 to almost 14 pounds. After a strict regimen of measured kibble and exercise, he is now a skinny senior cat who has decided to give up grooming himself. He looks just awful. There is nothing wrong with him except his difficult, cranky, independent personality. I know. I spent over $100 for unnecessary blood work for this little guy. He makes our beloved dog nervous, cries at my bedroom door at 3 AM for no reason, and recently shredded my new Egyptian cotton sheets.
And we absolutely adore him! ~ Ann
We would love for you to all tell us about your lovable impurrfect pets!
Ha Ha! Love this post! My cat Roxy is actually developmentally disabled, so she is ALWAYS getting into mischief, or placing herself in situations that aren’t to her benefit- like burying herself in the laundry basket and getting thrown into the washer, or constantly trying to sneak into my refrigerator.
I love this! I plan on doing a post about all of my animals soon. I’m pretty sure that my cat is a little off his rocker! 🙂 Too sweet and I loved getting to meet each of your fur-babies!
I love these impurrect fur kid stories.
So sweet, all of them.
Aww what gorgeous kitties! I’m so sorry for your loss of Katya xx
Our 2 cats are 10, and we recently had to decide if we could afford an expensive surgery for our 1 cat. We ended up doing it, but realizing that he is 10 and starting to have health issues makes me appreciate every minute I have with him.
What a great tribute to your furry family members.
What beautiful pets! I use to have cats when I am younger, but they don’t go well with my allergies 🙂 Now I have 2 dogs, I don’t know what I’d do if I lost either of them 🙁
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your cat. That is terribly sad. It looks like you have a great bunch of kitties to keep you entertained and loved. I think cats are so funny with their unique personalities and habits. I laughed out loud when I read about the food dish.
Your cats are adorable 🙂 I love hearing about their personalities and I’m sorry for the loss of Katya. Buster sounds a lot like my cat lol, he’s a perpetual troublemaker!
We’re going to have an issue for our cat and dog that I’m going to dread. Coming up with $300 deposits makes it difficult.
We have four kitties and they are all unique. One licks her fur off constantly! She is even on kitty prozac and wears a special collar to discourage licking. Nothing helps. I am sorry for the loss of Katya.
I am so sorry Katya passed away too. I still miss our first cat, Max. He was a bug guy, could rough it up with the dogs in the neighborhood, and not one rodent ever ventured into our acreage. Except for being bigger, he looked exactly like Buster who is pretty useless. You can NOT judge a cat by its cover!
I love all of your cats. They are all so purrfect in their own way. Jennie, it is so hard to lose a pet.
We are dog owners and have been since 93. I had a cat when I was a kid. Taffy. She was a tabby and we had her for 14 years. Loved that cat.
I miss having animals… but with the traveling we do, it just wouldn’t be fair to have them. You had and have some beautiful cats.
Your kitties are so adorable. I am really sorry for your loss. We have 3 kitties, one pup and a bird. The house is always a bit crazy because of them, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Loved your stories, being pet free here after many years of dogs, cats, frogs, worms, and butterfly’s in jars, I still miss every one of them that we had. We can enjoy the neighbors pets now.
i love animals, esp rescue animals. kudos to you for being such great pet owners. as a co-founder of an animal rescue in my city we see so many dogs and cats surrendered to the kill shelters everyday it’s sickening. most of the time for stupid reasons like – we just had a baby, or we’re moving. 🙁
Jennie, so sorry to read that Katya is no longer with you. I know it’s hard. She sounds like a little sweetheart. I agree, when you know it’s coming, it’s nice to have that special time to love and appreciate their life with us.
Lol, Hampton looks like a big ole cat, very handsome too.
Ann, Buster sounds like a loving handful. How do you put up with crying/singing at 3am? The cats that visit my porch at night drive me nuts w/that. Prob, the same way I put up w/Nibbles incessant barking anytime someone dares walk past our home (how dare they??) Poor Buster, hiding in the basement because you brought home a new member of the family. My older cat is still very displeased that there’s a new cat in the house. I don’t think they will ever get along.
Lily, one of us gets up and puts him outside in the middle of the night when he cries. Sometimes, rather than cry at our door, he paws our daughter’s door where the dog sleeps. The dog wakes then barks to let us all know that Buster wants something. Then we are ALL up.
Snickers, we raised monarchs to tag and release quite a few years ago. One was named Spot!
Awe they are so darn cute. I love my kitties!
I’m so sorry for your loss. We adore having pets and couldn’t imagine not having one.
Lol Ann, that’s funny. What an ornery little thing waking up the dog. Nibbles excuse for barking is he just isn’t very bright. He’s very basic; eat, love, protect, sleep.
Nibbles excuse for barking is he just isn’t very bright
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Ha, this made me laugh. We need to have a part two with a focus on impurrfect dogs. Actually, I guess we need to tweak the title since dogs don’t purr (or perhaps there are some out there that do?!)
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The thing that really makes me a cat and dog lover is just how unique each of their personalities are. Like humans, they do things to drive us crazy and then do something that will melt your heart. Pet owning is a great way to get in touch with humanity, IMO! 🙂
Ann,
How neat. I planted a butterfly bush in my yard for the monarchs to nibble on as they fly south for the winter. They are beautiful to watch.
Well, it’s happening and it’s adorable. The new cat and our little dog are friends and take turns chasing each other through the house. While Nibbles would like nothing more than to get ahold of a smaller kitten, he has also been trained in fear by our older cat who rules with an iron fist. He was a little unsure what our new cat was going to do w/her claws. But he is now confident she is not a disciplinarian. It’s so cute to watch them play and leap about.
We have two cats and they love getting into trouble too! Sammy Joe and Tiggy are a delight to have in the house.
I love these stories about the impurrfect pets. I just love dogs and cats and know that they have funny quirks that we sometimes do not understand. Our animals can drive me crazy sometimes, but with all of their imperfections they bring out the love and affection in us.
Cute little kittens. I love having such cute cat.
Love kitties. Sorry for your loss 🙁
Love your sweet fur babies. We are entertained by our quirky pets too. We love our animals but it is soooooo hard to lose one of them. Sooo sorry for the loss of Katya. (love that name!)
So cute. Sorry for your loss. Losing a pet is just like losing a family member, and it should be that way. We have 2 dogs and 2 cats and they are all 4 have imperfections in some way or another. But their sweet faces make up for all of them!! =)