Now the 3rd story of my Kitty-Love memories, Is the hardest one to write down because I am so full of
emotion when I recall it.
When I was 11 years old, On the fourth of July in 1990. My Mom had her family over for a big red, white and blue bbq. When my uncle Robert asked about our new kittens, We kids realized he hadn't seen them yet so the three of us ran off to the Cat haven room. I was going to be so proud to show off my Cally, she was just a rolly polly kitty. So she comfortably took her place on my shoulder. At that very moment when my excited Sister Dana came blowing past. I backed up against the wall to avoid slamming into her, what I saw next.... I can see so clearly in my mind like it was yesterday. She in turn slammed into Derek as he was bending down to pick up his black kitten, the crunch sound made me run out pass everyone with a burning scream caught in my throat. I had barely reach the patio where everyone else sat and I gasped out "Derek fell on his kitten, it's dead.....I know, I heard it, I saw it." I quickly handed my kitten to my Grandpa whose eyes show his horror and he took the kitty so gently at the same moment my Grandma shot up from her seat exclaiming "Oh Mercy, God save us!" She started off out to the rest of the family gathering around the storage room. But I raced to my bed and since cats were not allowed inside I knew my Grandpa would keep my kitten safe. I couldn't grab my pillow fast enough. I knew that with my eyes everything I saw, everything I heard would haunt me forever. It's the curse to bare when you know there is nothing allowing you to forget, with my memory nothing leaves me. Today I even call it the curse of the gift. For it can be so wonderful to remember everything good, but you have to deal with remembering the bad.
After that day when we were left with only 3 kittens, Our Mom gave Derek her kitten that she named "Tammy." Soon it came with great laughter that we realized Tammy was really a Tommy.
Now I had a deep fear of tom cats after watching a PBS "Nature" program about the cat's life on a dairy Farm. I was horrified to see a tom cat kill all but one kitten, which had escape and was rescued by a neighboring Mama cat. I made sure that Derek's cat Tommy was the most loving cuddling sweet tom cat, by carrying him around and spending extra attention on him. He had a dark gray face, tail and paws but was mostly white. My Dad said that Tommy was the laziest cat he had ever seen. I explained that I wanted Tommy to always stay nice and not kill any kittens. Dad stop to watch the tom cat laying sprawled out on the lawn chair, "Hard to imagine he even knows how to kill anything." I nodded happily "He isn't into going on walks with me right now, so I just carry him." My Dad rolls his eyes mumbling "Oh Good Grief."
When the evening came that Tommy never showed up for dinner, I remembered my Dad saying that the day would come when Tommy would leave us for the calls of other female cats. So I asked my Dad why. Why do male cats leave home looking for female cats? He explained that it is their natural instinct. I was feeling really worried as I said "I don't think he is going to make it out there." My Dad laughed while listening to me saying "I bet he is only gone a day." Sure enough a few days later Tommy was back and He was not interested in any females. Come to think about it, He really was never that interested for the rest of his life.
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