Catster Tips8 Ways to Make Your Elderkitty’s Golden Years Platinum

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American Shorthair

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Home:Brick, NJ

Sex: Female Weight: 8 lbs.

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Nicknames:
Ginj, Gingerine, Boo, Boo Beast, Tricks, Tricks-n-Treats, Kitten-Do, Gin-Gin-Boo-Kitten-Tricks, Love Beast, Bee, Bitch-Beast-from-Beyond, Four-Legged-Fur-Factory, and a formal title: Her Puissant Majesty, Empress Ginger I, Sovereign of all She Surveys

Quick Bio:

-mixed breed

Likes:
curling up on my lap

Pet-Peeves:
a lap that is not available

Favorite Toy:
felt frog stuffed with catnip

Favorite Nap Spot:
on the VCR!

Favorite Food:
Friskies canned food -- fresh ground beef as a treat

Skills:
perching on my shoulder like a parrot

Dwells:
indoors

Arrival Story:
I still remember clearly the day we brought Ginger home, so many years ago. It was April 15, 1981. For many that date is a day of dread, but for me it will always be an anniversary of joy. I had lost another kitty to feline leukemia about six months earlier, and was finally ready to adopt another “child.” A friend and fellow freshman at my high school had announced sometime beforehand that one of her cats would be having kittens. Although I don’t remember this part very well, my mother says that I waited for the births like an expectant father. Several weeks later, when the kittens were ready to find homes, my family trooped over to Cindy’s house. I don’t know how many were in the litter altogether, but there were three left when we came on the scene. Two of them, a female calico and a male black-and-white, scattered into hiding as we walked in the door. The mother was nowhere in sight. The third kitten, a red-and-white female with tabby markings, remained comfortably seated on a large easy-chair. The chair would have dwarfed a lesser creature, but she filled it with regal dignity. As I approached her, she regarded me with unblinking, oversized eyes that seemed to say, “Take me home, stupid. You’re mine.” The decision thus made, I collected my new mistress and we headed back home. Only about eight weeks old, her tiny body fit completely in the palm of my hand. She rode in it like a chariot. During the drive, we tossed around names for the little one. (Cindy’s family had been calling her Leo until they realized her gender and re-christened her Lea.) Her predominantly orange coat lent itself to a variety of colorful monikers. Mom suggested Ginger and it stuck. Thereafter, she became the de facto ruler of our household. My family would move to another house about 10 years later, and I would move out on my own about 5 years after that, but no matter where we lived, it was Ginger’s house; she just let the rest of us live there.

Bio:
Ginger passed away on October 17, 2000. She had been with me for almost her entire life, 19 1/2 years. Although I have two other kitties now, I still miss her terribly. Here are some napshots of a life well-lived: · Sleeping in her “spot of the month.” At different times it was on the kitchen chair, under the hassock, on the VCR, under the bar stools, on top of the pillows on my bed, tucked in the folds of her favorite comforter on the sofa, or just an apparently random spot in the middle of the carpet · Sitting on my papers when I spread all the stuff out on the floor to do my homework or balance my checkbook · Perching on the windowsill, “chirping” at the birds and squirrels · Crawling in front of the book when I was reading, and doing it again when I pulled the book in front of her, and doing it again until I gave in and snuggled with her · Racing across the room to chase down her favorite toy: a worn felt frog stuffed with catnip, which must have lost its scent 15 years ago · Nesting the front half of her body in the food bowl, when supper wasn’t forthcoming soon enough to suit her · Clambering up from my arms and balancing across my raised forearm and shoulder, like a furry parrot · Coming up behind me when I was working at the computer and yowling until I paid attention to her. Thank you, Ginger, for nineteen and a half wonderful years. You were my confidante and my conscience, my comfort and my companion. When I felt utterly alone and the vagaries of life threatened to overwhelm me, your gentle embrace restored my faith. An angel on earth, you blessed me every single day with your quiet steadfast presence. Though you are now physically gone, you will remain in my heart forever.

I've Been On Catster Since:

August 21st 2004