Our Cats: Tigger

When we moved to Austin, Texas for my husband, Lou's job in late 1982, we had my elderly dog, Tache and my cat, Ouija. We rented a duplex on Cinnamon Path in South Austin. One Sunday while walking Tache in the early morning, I heard a kitten meowing it's little lungs out. I found a silver tabby kitten in the fork of a dead tree down the street.

I took her in to be warm while I went to the store to get the paper and something for breakfast. When i got back, she was climbing all over Lou and already had her name; Tigger. Fortunately, no one responded to my signs to claim her.

Tigger was the clumsiest kitten I have ever known. She once missed the counter top and fell in the trash can. She fell off the table, off the stereo cabinet, off the window sills and occasionally off of one of us! She was so much fun to watch and so playful.

I hadn't had a kitten in over ten years and had forgotten how much entertainment they can be. The only thing more entertaining than one kitten is two kittens. In fact, I recommend getting two litter mates when you decide you want to get a kitten or just get two kittens the same age at the Pound. We've had three sets of litter mates and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The only really bad habit Tigger had was clawing door jams. She was awful about it and we couldn't make her quit, so we finally gave up and had her declawed on the front feet. I will never do that again! She got over it and still "sharpened" her non-existent claws on whatever she pleased, but she was so miserable right after the surgery! I cried for having had it done.

Tigger loved everyone and never met a stranger, as they say. That was another reason to keep her indoors all the time. She would have gone up to anyone outside and not everyone has benign intentions towards cats. She particularly liked our friend, Carol and even won over non-cat-person Sue, when we were in OK.

She was always the cat who would do something unexpected. Once on Cinnamon Path, I was sitting outside on the upstairs balcony reading, with Tigger, Ouija and Tache. Tigger got up on the balcony railing (this was before she was declawed.) The next thing I knew, she had jumped from the railing up onto the brick siding. She was clinging to the bricks half way between the railing and the roof with no place to go! She managed to turn and jump back down, landing on the railing again. She scared me almost to death with that stunt! I thought she was a goner. If she were human she would have missed a promising career on the beam in gymnastics.

Tigger loved to drink out of a faucet. I guess she liked the taste of the "fresh" water. She would also play with the water stream while it was falling. She batted at it, bit at it and then would go back to drinking it. A couple of our other cats were occasional sink-players, but not to the extent that Tigger was.

Tigger moved with us seven times in her life. She was a fixture in our lives. We were so sad when she passed away in Red Oak, Texas at age 13. None of our other cats was ever the companion and entertainer that Tigger was.

Judy Ward

Revised 7/27/17