Ivy

This is my Ivy cat. She passed away in March. I was really missing her tonight for some reason. She was one of the sweetest kitties you would have ever met.

I remember the night she was born, it was December 21st 1991. Our cat PJ's had gotten pregnant awhile ago and we knew the babies would be there any day. My brother and I were so excited we could hardly stand it. I had already been appointed as the first chooser of the kittens when they came because of being the youngest. But the day the babies were to arrive we went to the movie store and were only getting one movie, Justin, being a big brother, made a deal with me that if he let me choose the movie then he got first pick of the kittens. I being the younger, foolish sister agreed right away. I believe I chose Rainbow Bright. Well we came home and PJ's had disappeared. We finally heard mewing coming from Justin's bedroom, she had her kittens in his closet!

Like I had promised he got to choose which one he wanted, he chose Ivy. She was the only white kitten in a batch of gray. I was so jealous. I was really mad because I would've chosen Ivy as my own. Instead I got Holly, who consequently was an amazing kitty. So once the babies were old enough we gave away the other four and kept little fluffball Ivy and Holly.

Ivy never quite took to Justin, he's just not the cat person my mom and I are. So from the beginning Ivy loved mom and I most.

Ivy was a very gentle, quiet cat. Although she had a purr that you could hear from a mile away. She was timid, yet loved to play with dangly things. She hated being around too many people, yet loved attention.

Every year on her and Holly's birthday we would get little tins of wet cat food for each of them and let them eat them up. It was the cat version of a birthday cake.

Holly disappeared about five years later. But Ivy stayed. She was scared of going outside so we let her be an indoor cat after awhile. She mostly lived under my parents bed, I would go visit her most days, she liked that.

Ivy had kittens of her own when she was only about a year old (that was when we still put her outside). They were all little fluffy white and gray kittens, we didn't keep any though.

Once every year mom and I had to give Ivy her shearing. She had very long fluffy fur that would get matted no matter how well she cleaned herself. So in the Spring time we'd don our messy clothes and rubber gloves and go grab Ivy and cut all her mats off. She hated it and would yell and yell at us, but she secretly liked it because she felt much better afterward.

She had the funniest little face, her eyes never changed from bright blue and would often go crossed. She would also frequently get just the tip of her tongue stuck sticking out of her mouth. I loved when she did both at the same time. I made me laugh every time!

She was such a good girl and so sweet. She wasn't necessarily a lap cat but she just wanted to be near you so would often lay on the tops of chair or couches. I lover her meow, it was like she was trilling.

I don't think I'll ever meet another cat like Miss Ivy. I'm sad she had to go, but she was 17 years old, she had had a great life and it was her time. My parents house still feels empty without her; I had grown accustomed to her fluffy white presence after so many years. I miss her.