Shadow, 3/17/1990 - 11/11/2003

Not really ferret related - today is the 2 year anniversary of the day I helped my first cat, Shadow, cross the bridge. I got her when I was in 5th grade, and she was 13 when she died. Her birthday was St. Patrick's day. She was a huge black cat - 22 lbs at her heaviest. When she was younger, it was all muscle. I used to tease her when she was older and tell her that she had the body of an old body builder who had left himself go (all the muscles collapsed into fat). I think she actually understood me, because she used to growl at me when I called her fat. She had so much personality.

When she was a kitten, she was a great hunter - birds, baby rabbits, anything she could get her paws on. She even hunted our other cats. She would wait behind the wall, and when they walked by, she would jump on their backs and ride them around the downstairs! She was never big on snuggling, but she used to sit behind me on the couch and massage my shoulders with her paws, doing happy claws (sans claws). And she loved to lay next to me on the couch, directly on top of the cordless phone. When it would ring, she would look all surprised and alarmed. She was so lazy sometimes. While she was walking through the kitchen, she would let her back feet drop, go another foot or so just pulling herself with her front paws, then she would just thump onto the floor and stretch out. Occasionally she would get up, move a foot, and thump back down again. She looked so contented when she did that. She was my Shadow kitty and I miss her.

This year she sent me a little kitten in her image - he's black and he has her eyes. Some of his mannerisms are so like hers. I know it was her telling me it's alright to let another cat into my heart again.

I miss you Shadow. I won't forget.

Tags

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ferret, cats, Rainbow Bridge