Little Kitty 1995 - 2009

[rm]

Little Kitty's real name was Shiyung. I'm not sure she knew that. I named her after one of the three sisters of the ruling Orsinate in Aestival Tide, which is Elizabeth Hand's sort of sequel to Winterlong. It's out of print, and it is fucked up.

Anyway, Little wasn't very good at being a cat. She played fetch when she was younger and liked to stand in the shower with me and never learned how to meow properly, making a sort of one syllable grunting noise that usually meant "I'm really enjoying biting this roll of duct tape/box of tampons/book."

I got her 14 years ago to the day. She and her sister-cat (who is not her sister), who had just had their shots and were sleepy and pissed. Little immediately became "the cat" while Pretty Kitty became "the other cat" mainly because Pretty hid all the time.

Some of you first met her at a New Year's party I had a few days later. If you were there, you'll remember that some drunk idiot tried to steal her.

Little was there for the aftermath of Greg, for Michael (whom she was excessively fond of and whose voice she still could recognize on the phone last time I spoke to him in her presence, years after she'd last seen him), and for all sorts of other crap too.

She was there when I was rich, when I was poor, when I had an abortion and when I worked in the sex industry. She was there for the dot.com bullshit, for dreams of Baz Luhrmann (when I went to Australia, my roommate would email to say "the cats think I have eaten you"), and for a stupid fire below our Avenue C apartment where she got drunk on the smoke and staggered around for a few hours after. "Don't worry," the firefighters said, "cats'll survive anything."

And she did. She always had weird medical problems the cause of which was never found. There was the uterine infection and the liver thing (prior to this liver thing just now). She puked a lot. She was messy. Her fur was so thick it turned into little clumps that I swear she should shoot off her body at people at will. She had such massive whiskers I always thought she looked like a sea-creature.

She adored Patty, and drove us crazy in the process, always worming her massive bulk between us on the couch, or trying to by standing on our ovaries first or something. Patty was amazing with her, and I'd laugh and laugh at grooming hilarity, when Patty would use the cat rake on her and the clouds of hair would spin around her like some sort of horrible cat-induced Wizard of Oz thing.

Whenever I was sick, you know, which is often, Little always tried to help by standing on my stomach; my celiac disease does not thank her. When I was sad or scared, I would nap with my head on Little's giant belly. She'd usually let me do it for twenty to thirty minutes at a time.

She was an awesome cat, even if she was stupid (and inventively so), grouchy and too fat to effectively clean herself. She owned every house she was ever in, and loved every person I ever had, just, it seems, on my say so. She was enthusiastic and smug.

She loved broccoli.

Like, a lot. I remember once letting her eat some when Kali was over, and I'll never understand how a cat managed to eat plain broccoli one minute and vomit up acres of cream sauce the next, but Megan was there too and we all saw it happen. It was the most disgusting thing ever and we were all laughing so hard.

Patty and I talk about how Little thunders across the plains of our apartment. Really. She galumphed, and sat on this scratcher we got her which we called her double-wide. If this cat had been human it would have loved Southern food and Elvis, which isn't all that much different from what she did as a cat.

Little could have told you my whole life story. What I look like in the mornings and all the people I ever pretended to be -- it's more than you know. She can't, and I'm sad, and I miss her, but man... dodged that bullet, yeah?

They loved her at the vet, and everyone was crying with me. They were rooting for her and thought she was hilarious.

This is about all I can do right now. I'm leaving comments on but am not having them emailed to me, because I'm not sure to what degree I can process your sympathy.

She was the best of beasties, and if kitty heaven lives up to cliches as advertised, she was so huge they may be having trouble keeping the thing airborne right now.

Comments

[akaspeedo.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I've had cats all my life and I know just what you mean about them being there for you through everything.

[lefaym.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry. :(

RIP Little Kitty.

[alabastard.livejournal.com]

Beautiful tribute for a beautiful cat.

RIP Little Kitty.

[dandelion-diva.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry. I wish her the best in whatever comes next.

[1-mad-squirrel.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[don-negro.livejournal.com]

The reason the end sucks so bad is because the years were ever-so-worth-it. Losing a good cat is really damned hard, but it beats the hell out of never having a good cat.

If you'll pardon the unwarranted familiarity, *hugs*.

[marzipan-pig.livejournal.com]

Oh! So sorry. It sounds like you and she had a wonderful life together!

[nysidra.livejournal.com]

I have the urge to say, "that was a beautiful service" even though, we aren't at a funeral, and that wasn't a formal eulogy, I guess.

But it explains how I feel reading that. I feel like I did just attend a funeral, and the tribute to the dearly departed was indeed very beautiful.

[woogledesigns.livejournal.com]

I am very sad for your loss and very glad that you and Little had such loving people as each other in each other's lives.

[qthelights.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry, honey. I truly am. My cats and I are thinking of you and I hope my baby, up in kitty heaven for nearly two years now (feels like yesterdy still) will show your baby the celestial ropes. (or bring cats, bat and chase celestial strings). *hugs tight*

[kindkit.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[baxaphobia.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry about your kitty. Hugs. Believe me, I've been there.

[wordswoman.livejournal.com]

"All kitties go to heaven," my dad used to say (he had 7 when he died), and even though I don't believe in heaven, I think he was right.

I'm so sorry for your loss, but so grateful you gave your cat such a happy and much-loved life.

[miep.livejournal.com]

I have pictures, somewhere, of Little letting us put stuff on her during one of my visits. She was always pleasant and sociable to me, and I am sorry she's gone.

[rm.livejournal.com]

If you can find those, I'd love to see them.

[theotoky.livejournal.com]

oh, dear heavens, rach. i am so sorry. she was such a snuggly sweet little (huge) thing.

"that's Little", you said, "she's in love with you. because i say so."

and you grinned and she purred and it was so fine.

my thoughts are with you both.

[malle-babbe.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry. Little Kitty sounded like she was your rock through some hard times...

[dvanulya.livejournal.com]

I'm truly sorry for your loss.

[d-aulnoy.livejournal.com]

I am so very, very sorry. She sounds like she was an awesome cat.

[stiobhan.livejournal.com]

I'm very sorry for your loss. She sounds like a great cat.

[systris.livejournal.com]

babes, i'm sorry :(

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry for your loss. She sounds absolutely wonderful.

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

I'm so very sorry about your sweet Little Kitty. *hugs*

She sounds like a wonderful friend.

[thaddeusfavour.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm afraid, even after a couple of months, I'm too close to my own to do more than skim your memorial. But I certainly understand. ::hugs::

Perhaps my Pardis and your Little Kitty are threatening the equilibrium of kitty heaven even now.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry.

[kadairk.livejournal.com]

*hugggs*