Memories And Meows - Debbie De Louise

Memories And Meows by Debbie De Louise

Book excerpt

I’ve been blessed to have shared my life with many cats. They’ve all had their own stories and some of them have even told those stories themselves.

Twenty years ago, in 2000, two cats lived in my home: Floppy and Holly. They were then five and eight years old. I had gotten Floppy in early November 1992, three months after I married. I’d found him in the pet section of Newberry’s Department Store. Having lost my gray cat, Benny, to kidney failure a few years earlier, I was looking for another cat who might keep me company while my husband worked nights. My first sight of Floppy was in a cage with his three brothers. He was the only gray and white kitten, I was told he was twelve weeks old and had already received all his shots. Not only did I like the fact that he looked a bit like Benny, but he was the most active of his siblings and seemed very friendly. However, I didn’t want to decide too quickly to bring him home.

I’ve always believed that if something is meant to be, it will happen no matter what, so I made myself a promise that if no one had claimed him over the weekend, I would go back to the store on Tuesday, which was a day off for me because it was Election Day.

When I returned, I was happy to see that Floppy was still there. I took him home after purchasing a carrier and got him settled in our apartment. When my husband came home from work, I announced that we had a new addition to our family. Floppy became like a child for us during that time.

Shortly after adopting him, we discovered he had asthma and when he turned six, he was diagnosed with diabetes. As he grew older, he also developed pancreatitis and liver issues and was hospitalized three times. We had to put him to sleep when he was 15.

Holly joined us in 1995 a year after we’d moved into our house. She was a feral cat that my mother was feeding in her backyard. When I visited my mother, she persuaded me to take Holly home. I was struck by her beautiful green eyes but was nervous about how she and Floppy would get along. I needn’t have worried because Floppy took her under his wing and even taught her how to use a litter box. They became great pals.