My Beloved Pet Cat

My first pet I could truly call my own was a blackish grey cat by the name of "Smokey"; I was about ten years old when I first laid eyes on her for the first time. Her mother "Bandit" and her grandmother "Matches" each had a litter of kittens a couple of days apart. Smokey was one of these kittens. Their owner (my neighbour Nancy) would let me visit and play with the kittens.

Visiting the Cat Clan

I would go to my neighbour (Nancy's) house to play with the delightful little balls of fur every chance I could. Nancy was such a nice neighbour to allow me unlimited access to Smokey and the rest of the cat clan. I was so fascinated with these delightful little kittens, I spent ages just laying on the floor watching them interact and play with one another. The antics of the kittens had me giggling on many a visit!

Born Free - Elsa

At this time I was really into the lion "Elsa" from the movie "Born Free" these kittens reminded me of miniature lions; acting and behaving so much like my beloved "Elsa" and her pride. I would leave the kittens already looking forward to the next time I would visit them. I would go home and beg my mother to let me have a kitten; begging and pleading with her but to no avail. I felt so heartbroken that I would not be allowed to bring one of the miniature lions home with me to join my family/pride.

Picking My Kitten

My mother was not a real animal lover so this was a real hard sell trying to convince her to let me have a kitten. I knew my mum hated rodents more than cats so I pointed out that if we had a cat she would keep the mice and other vermin away. My mother finally broke down and said the magic words "Yes you can have a kitten". After I stopped jumping and screaming for joy I headed off to Nancy's to pick my kitten--I felt like I was walking on air that day!

So Many Kittens

The task of choosing the pick of the litter or in this case litters; was a little more difficult than I had anticipated. With so many kittens to choose from in an assortment of lovely colours, it was hard to single one out of the bunch. It took me days to try and decide which one was to be my very own special kitten.

Stealing Each Other's Kittens

Smokey's mother and grandmother would constantly steal each other's kittens each taking which they thought were the cutest kittens. One day I arrived at the house of cats to find in one cat bed Matches with all the kittens except one (Smokey). When I laid eyes on poor little Smokey all alone in the other cat bed I knew right then and there that this was my special kitten.

Stood Out in the Crowd

Compared to the other kittens she was plain-looking as they were all these multi-colored kittens. In my eyes this is something else that made "Smokey" special; the fact that she stood out in the crowd I also liked that about her. Maybe in a weird way she reminded me of myself as I know there were times in my life that I felt I didn't always fit in.

Smokey - My Best Friend

As the years passed "Smokey" and I became best of friends having many hours of fun together just hanging out. She was like my little lioness, her plains being the shag rugs in the house. When the first time came for "Smokey" to become a mother of her own litter I was so thrilled that she was having kittens. I built her a cat condo with multiple levels etc.

Smokey's Midwife

When she would go into labour she would come and find me and lead me back to her bed. She would then crawl under her blanket and I would have my head under the blanket watching the great miracle of birth. Smokey ended up having 4 litters in all and I was there for each and every one of those births; after all, I was "Smokey's" personally appointed midwife. During her the birth of her last litter, Smokey had a breach birth. She gave out this almost human-like scream, in my panic I reacted by pulling the kitten out. Smokey and her kitten were both fine, and life went on filled with joy in our little pride!

Dedicated to the memory of my dear furry friend "Smokey"