oej shed a tear for a sister calico,
"Gandalf" wrote in message
...
I was Kenzie's third, and last human.

I adopted her from a family whose young son had developed severe asthma.

They were DESPERATE to find a good home for her, but they wouldn't even
turn her in to a no-kill shelter: they wanted to be sure Kenzie went to
a home they approved of.

One of my two cats had gone to the Bridge, and after some months, I was
looking for another kitty.

I called a no-kill shelter, and asked about cats that were being
fostered, because it's hard to get a good 'feel' for a cat's
personality, when they have been in a cage, and you spend an hour with
them.

The shelter gave my name and phone number to the family that had Kenzie,
and I spoke with the family's mother for about 2 hours. She liked me

I live alone, and I own my own home. And, I used to work for a vet, as
well.

The next day, I put my carrier in my car, and drove the 40 miles to go
meet Kenzie.

I still remember seeing her down the length of a hallway, and thinking
how pretty she was! She was a VERY pretty calico cat. Everyone who met
her told me so.

I approached Kenzie, and got down on my knees about 3 feet away, and put
my hand out.

Kenzie came right up to me, and nuzzled my hand. I started petting her,
and scritching her ears. She was purring up a storm.

While I was getting to know Kenzie a little, and asking questions about
her, the lady kept asking me 'do you like her?'; 'do you think you will
take her?'.

It wasn't until a few days later, when I was telling her about how well
Kenzie was settling in at my house, that she told me that the doctor had
told them they must find a new home for their cat, and they had been
trying to find a 'good home' for her for about 3 MONTHS, with no luck,
until I turned up.

I like to think I was the lucky one

Kenzie didn't have a single bad habit... not ONE.

She asked for attention, but never demanded it.

Not once, ever, did she jump up on the kitchen counter, the dining room
table, my many sets of book shelves, or my computer table. She just
didn't jump up on things.

It took me two YEARS to convince her that it was OK to get up on my
little sofa/recliner.

Kenzie never became a real 'lap cat', but sometimes, when I was watching
TV, she would come and jump up and lie in my lap. Usually, she only
stayed for 10 or 15 minutes. But, on rare occasions, she would stay
longer, occasionally falling asleep in my lap, and staying with me for
an hour or two.

That was always a real treat for me

Kenzie never woke me up, demanding to be fed. When I got up, she would
go over to her empty food dish, and stand over it and meow, not
demanding, but calling attention to the empty bowl; that was all she
ever did.

When she was overweight, and I had to strictly measure out LESS than 1/2
cup of food a day, she ate her small amount of food, and would meow to
ask for more, but only for a little while. Sometime I gave in and gave
her some more food, but not often.

When Kenzie got sick, first with hyperthyroidism, and then her other
illnesses, she was always SO GOOD about letting me give her her many
pills.

Sometimes, I didn't get them far enough back on her tongue, and she
would spit them out. And then she would just sit there, and let me try
again.

The Tapezole was VERY bitter, but she never, EVER even tried to make it
at all difficult to give her her medications.

Once or twice, it took me FOUR tries to give her her Tapazole. She just
stayed by my feet, and let me try to give it to her again, and again.

After I gave her her medication, I always her a bit of sardine, one of
her very favorite treats. It wasn't very much; but enough to take the
taste of the bitter Tapezole out of her mouth, if I had had difficulty
giving it to her, and she had spit it out.

It was a terribly inadequate reward, for her near saintly behavior, when
she was sick, and I had to give her as many as five different
medications, every day.

Kenzie's other favorite treat was potato chips (crisps, in Great
Britain). Fortunately, her previous humans told me of her love of potato
chips, for I would never have figured it out.

Kenzie loved potato chip more than sardines, I think. I used to buy
small bags, just to have them for her. Potato chips are not good food
for humans or cats, but Kenzie loved them so.

I have met many, many cats. Some are friendlier, and more outgoing than
Kenzie was, but I never met another cat with such a sweet disposition.

Kenzie was a very, very special cat. How fortunate I was, to share her
life, though I wish it could have been longer.

I buried her in my back yard, underneath the lilac bushes, near my other
two RB kitties, Lucky and Blizzard.

I know that she is waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge, but I like to
thing a tiny bit remained behind, where I laid her to rest; and
sometimes I go and talk to her, and to Lucky and Blizzard, also.