Kitty’s Story

For those of you who visit regularly, you may have noticed that our housecat, Kitty, appears in posts from time to time. So I thought it was about time that I should let you know about Kitty’s history with us.

In late October 2007, my then fiance Harland, and I, spent the weekend in Hannibal Missouri. We had just become engaged a couple days before, and were in Hannibal just to do the tourist type things one does there. So we saw Mark Twain’s home, took a riverboat ride, and visited Rockcliffe Mansion, a lumber baron’s late 19th century home. One evening, we decided to cross the Mississippi river to the Illinois side to view the lights of Hannibal reflected in the river. As we pulled off the road and stopped at the edge of a cornfield, we noticed a young calico cat, who seemed very happy to see us. She was rather thin, and when we got out of our vehicle, she approached Harland. Cat lover that he is, he picked her up. She was quite friendly and treated us like long lost friends. Well, we didn’t want to leave her there as no one lives on that side of the river and we were pretty certain she had to be a “drop-off”. So we got back in the truck, with her on my lap, and drove to Wal-Mart. She enjoyed watching people in the parking lot and was so happy to be with me while we waited for Harland to pick up some food, a cat carrier, and food and water dishes. When he came back, we fed her in the back seat of the truck. She ate like a wolf. She spent the night in the cat carrier in the truck, and the next morning we fed her again, and again- she ate like a wolf.  We had breakfast at a fast food restaurant, and when we came back out to the truck, she had taken care of business in her carrier. We drove with the windows open to a remote area which happened to be Lover’s Leap, a rocky ledge overlooking the river. While we were cleaning up her business, she escaped and ran away from us. I got her back, and held onto her until her carrier was fit for habitation again. As we drove home we realized that neither of us really wanted a house cat, and so we decided to pawn her off generously give her to my sister, Martha, and her 4 kids.  They were thrilled when we dropped her off at their house on the way home.  The cat was not thrilled. She growled at the kids, and refused to let them pet her. Oh well, we thought, she’ll settle down. A week later, we learned that she was still growling, and had aquired even more endearing behavior- she was scratching the kids. She had been spending her days in the woods near their home, and came out only at night to visit their garage to eat. Since she didn’t like the kids, and since we were afraid some predator was going to get her, we took her back. Next, we tried to unload her generously give her to my brother. She took one look at him from her carrier, and growled menacingly. Ok fine, we’ll keep her. I took her home with me to my trailer in Missouri where I lived at the time.

November 2007

She was good about using the litter box, and didn’t cause much trouble, but she was standoffish, didn’t like to be petted or held, bit and scratched to let me know I was not allowed to touch her, and she had no interest in play of any kind. But worst of all- her food wasn’t agreeing with her, and she was rather…well….gassy. Disagreeable odors filled the house. One particularly bad night, I considered “accidently” leaving the door open for her, but reluctantly decided not to. So I switched her to a more expensive food, which cured the odor issue, but she still remained aloof and unfriendly. It was like having a rude unappreciative houseguest. I traveled to Kansas that next weekend to visit Harland, and brought her along. She traveled well in her carrier, and endured the 3 hour drive fairly well. She stayed at Harland’s house for the weekend, and then I took her back home as Harland declared he would never have a cat live in the house. Finally though, after several weeks, we started trading her off, one week at my place, one week at Harland’s. It was like shared custody. Well, the months went by, I moved to Kansas to be nearer Harland and prepare for the wedding, and Kitty, as we now called her, settled permanantly at Harland’s home. Over many months, she finally began to relax, enjoyed being petted, and started to play and frisk about.

And today, we can’t imagine our life without her. She sleeps with us at night curled up against us for warmth, keeps us company as we do our daily tasks around the house, and provides companionship when we are ill. She likes to pretend she is a lion on the African plain, and will jump us from behind to try and take us down. She also likes to go outside now, and spends time every day sitting outside the front door watching the world go by.

She likes to participate in our celebrations.

She HATES the barn cats and is vigilant about chasing them away from the house, which is a good thing as they were using my flower beds as a litterbox.  Here, Kitty(in the foreground) stares down Prancer, a barn cat, right before she chases Prancer back to the barn.

She even chases the tomcats away as she has no interest in them, and is bigger than them anyway. She thinks she looks like this:

She helps out in the kitchen,

and asks only a small reward for her services. She loves to eat a tidbit of tomato.

She helps with remodeling projects.

She offers her assistance in the office from her perch on the printer.

She likes to watch tv,

occasionally kills rodents,

is never late for supper,

helps with gardening projects,

and she always gets the best seat in the house.

Every empty box must be explored. This holds true for open suitcases too.

Her tongue does double duty as both washcloth,

and toliet paper.

But the best part of Kitty is that she is soft,

cute,

and nice to hold.

So we are very glad that we decided to keep Kitty. She’s become a part of our lives, and worked her way into our hearts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Suzanne

Cattle, corn, wheat, beans, mud, snow, ice, and drought. Plenty of fresh air and quiet. Our life is sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous, but never boring.

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58 Responses

  1. Lori says:

    Hi, my name is Lori and I have seen your name on so many of the blogs that I land on through a day, so I just thought I would pop over to say hi.
    We have a cat that looks almost identical-in fact my two year old is standing here saying “Kippy!”, which is our cat’s name. We have had her for 14 years and she still is standoffish.
    You have a beautiful cat-thanks for sharing!

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Lori,
      Cats are so funny. Despite the fact that she enjoys are company, she still has her moments when she bites(gently) to let us know they she is not to be bothered right now.
      Thanks for stopping by!

  2. Maggie says:

    Aww she’s so cute, Suzanne! We’ve got a Kitty too- and despite the fact that I’m allergic (or maybe because of it), she’s decided that she’s my girl. Like my dogs, she even follows me into the bathroom. 🙂

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Maggie,
      Kitty follows us into the bathroom too. She facinated by the flushing of the toliet and tries to stick her head down there when the water goes down.
      Thank you!

  3. Maggie says:

    Sorry for the double-comment. I’d meant to also say that your photos of Kitty are absolutely wonderful!

  4. That was great! What a good story about Kitty. You have a great collection of photos of Kitty. She is obviously part of your lives. Does she travel with you on your trips? Or, does she guard the house?

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Gardener,
      Kitty stays home to guard the house. Besides, she likes having the house to herself. When we come back, she has rearranged the area rugs in the kitchen.
      Thank you!

  5. Kath says:

    Kitty knows what she likes!!! Sweet story.

  6. Saska says:

    Love your Kitty story. Funny how we have barn cats, but there’s always one kitty that steals our heart.

    • Suzanne says:

      Saska,
      The barn cats are partly wild, and so we don’t get attached to them much. But Kitty is a different matter.
      Thanks for stopping by!

  7. She is a multi-tasking Kitty! Love her and your stories!

    -kristina-

  8. Vivian says:

    What a lovely story. She is a beautiful cat and such a part of the family. She wanted to live with you guys and that was probably the reason she was so disagreeable to your relatives.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Vivian,
      That’s the part we’ve never been able to figure out. She’s always been kinder to us than to other people. To this day, we are just about the only ones who are allowed to pet her.
      We just wonder what her life was like before she found us. I can’t think it was good.

  9. Kitty is so adorable! I enjoyed reading about how you found her. Sounds like she was quite a challenge in the beginning! It’s so nice that she is a big part of your life now. I love the photo of her putting her paw onto the dough on the table, and the one where you said she is never late to dinner….and oh my gosh..the one where she killed a rodent! I like that she is bossy and chases the other cats away! That is so funny!

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Bonnie,
      Glad you enjoyed this. Kitty is very bossy, honestly- she does think she is a tiger.
      Thanks for stopping by!

  10. Debbie says:

    I love that picture with Kitty and the tomatoes! My sister’s cat loved tomatoes too. My cat Blackjack was eating avocado last night. Surprised the heck out of me!
    You just never know what they will like!

  11. Linda says:

    I cracked right up at the picture of Kitty on the printer. We have almost the identical setup here, including the fact the actual top of the printer is covered with the tray sticking out. And of course this so our Missy kitty can lay in one of her favourite spots.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Linda,
      Kitty sometimes steps on the printer/fax buttons, and it pulls paper in or whatever. Harland says she is trying to send a fax. 🙂 She also likes to walk across the keyboard and mess up what we are working on.

  12. Shailaja says:

    A grass (er, tomato) eating tiger (er, cat)! Kitty surely is a cutie.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Shailaja,
      Yes she is, and she knows it too. Lately, when she wants something, she rolls onto her back with her feet tucked under her chin and a pitiful look on her face. Adorable.

  13. Glyndalyn says:

    She is beautiful.

  14. Stephanie says:

    Thanks for the story. Kitty is just not a cute cat after all! I am sure she is a good company and in good hands. It’s funny that you mentioned that Kitty helps in this and that he he… she is really a part of your family now 😀 And you are so funny… compared her to a tiger ha ha…

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Stephanie,
      Tee hee….she DOES think she is a tiger. She takes on dogs too, and tried to bully us sometimes.

  15. Melanie says:

    Cute story!! I’m glad you kept her!

  16. Sylvie says:

    I’m a cat lover from way back. Kitty looks a little like our Amy with the spot on her nose. Amy was suppose to be a pet to our girls, but she’s my cat now. I love the pictures of Kitty.

  17. Teresa says:

    How very sweet! Kitty knew what she was doing to stay with you two. It’s amazing how much a part of our lives our pets become.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Teresa,
      We called her kitty at first because we didn’t plan on keeping her, but by the time she ended up with us for good, the name had stuck, and so she will always be Kitty now.

  18. Oh, I just love this story. I think the saying that the cat picks you, is so true, especially in your case. I love the photo of her on top of your TV 😉

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Noelle,
      Seems like every cat I’ve ever had picked me – they’ve all been strays that just showed up.
      Thank you!

  19. Doe of Mi. says:

    Love the pic of Kitty sitting a table waiting for her supper. She has the same
    expression on her face as my Sam cat gets —- “wheres mine? I’m next!”
    Also love the husband holding her, you know she’s loving it because she has
    those little claws just barely out on his arm. Ready to KNEAD!!
    Thanks for my smiles this morning.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Doe,
      That seems to be Kitty’s overall attitude towards life – where’s mine? So catlike. 🙂
      Thank you, and you’re welcome.

  20. Peggy says:

    Oh my. Love your story. She has really expressive eyes. Like she is asking, “What are you looking at?” I could think of a few good captions for some for them. Ha ha

  21. Kelly says:

    Hey Suzanne!
    We finally see what you look like on the celebration page!
    I LOVE the shot of Kitty and her rodent kill! You made the rat seem so menacing!
    I’m glad too that you kept her.
    Love your post!

  22. Michelle says:

    Hi,
    My family is also the owner of a freebie cat that we didn’t quite want, but couldn’t let go to the pound. This cat was found living alone in an abandoned trailer so we took him in…begrudgingly. He too was not so nice at first and I can totally relate to your feelings of having an unappreciative house guest. But he (Albert) has been with us 3 years now, has warmed up to us considerably and is now part of our family. Love your blog, just moved to the prairie myself six months ago from Detroit, big difference! Hilarious Kitty story!
    Mich-in-Iowa

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Michelle,
      Thank you for your story about Albert. Sound like he and Kitty have a lot in common. Don’t you wish they could tell us what their life was before we met them?
      Thank you for stopping by.

  23. rebecca says:

    i don’t even like cats but i loooove Kitty. this is a HILARIOUS post and the last picture with Kitty adn Harland is awesome. like 2 peas in a pod.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Rebecca,
      Cats are fun pets to have. You can’t help but get attached to them, even if they don’t always show affection back.

  24. Julie says:

    OMG!!! That story is hysterical. I love all the photos and her interaction in your daily life. So precious. Well,
    God knew she was meant for your family only. That story was worth the wait. Too funny. Growling huh..wow…You are adorable, and so is Kitty.

  25. Leslie says:

    Kitty is quite the cat’s meow, if you don’t mind me saying so!! My cat, Zilla does so many of the same things and keeps me laughing! What would we do without them?

  26. Dianna says:

    Just found your blog – love the post about your kitty! The pictures are great – especially the one of her waiting for the tomato tidbit! Lost my dear kitty last year – we still miss her so!
    Will be a regular reader of your blog!
    Dianna
    http://www.thesedaysofmine.com

  27. Kit G says:

    I stumbled upon your blog this morning and have been neglecting my chores, drinking waaaaay too much tea, and reading, reading, reading! Thank you for sharing your life with me, I have loved every minute I’ve spent here with you.

    This post made me smile, laugh, and even tear up a wee bit. How terribly lucky you and Kitty are to have found each other!

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Kit G,
      Welcome! So glad you are enjoying my ramblings, and thank you!
      Strangely, I’ve gone back and re-read the this post, and I tear up too. Guess the little pain-in-the-butt means that much to me. 🙂

  28. Darlene says:

    I am so glad you kept Kitty she is a beauty and such a good family member. Love this blog.

  29. Leah says:

    I just bumbled on this site somehow, and what a sweet story! Funny how animals choose us – or maybe they’re chosen FOR us. I’m glad you kept her too. She seemed meant to be with you and Harlan.

  30. Joy says:

    Kitty, you landed at just the right spot when you found Suzanne and Harland! She’s so pretty, love her face!

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