Meet Missy!

She came to us at about a year of age, a new mother of 4 tiny kittens. She was living with a frail, elderly couple, both of whom were ill and barely able to care for themselves, let alone a mama cat with kittens. The couple's daughter had abruptly left town and simply dumped the pregnant Missy on their doorstep.

The Visiting Nurse who was seeing the couple was quite concerned about their ability to care for the cats but also about their safety once the kittens began exploring on their own. As she told us their story, we all began picturing kittens getting stepped on and elderly people suffering broken hips as a result of tripping over a kitten! Of course, we readily agreed to take in Missy and her babies.

As the kittens grew and were weaned, we were able to find good homes for all of them. We decided to keep Missy because older cats are so hard to adopt out and, because she seemed so happy with us. Besides, she is very lovable and affectionate and, truth be told, we didn't want to let her go!

She loves to talk! She comes in the room wherever we are and trills at us. She never meows but she trills all the time! It is just so cute we can't help but to talk back to her, pet her, and lavish attention on her - which is probably why she does it!

She had never shown any interest in venturing outside until we made the outdoor play yard. She loves to go out there on a nice day and lounge on the grass in the sun. Other than the play yard, she will not go outside. She will stand inside an open door but never cross the threshold. Often, a kitten or 2 would sit with her, looking out. If one of them tried to go through the open door, Missy will stop them! She is an excellent surrogate mother!

Her favorite place to spend time is on top of the cat tree in the kitchen. From there, she can keep an eye on the activities of the house and make sure everyone is on their best behavior! Lounging up in the cat tree in the kitchen also insures she is never late for a meal!

Her favorite activity is being groomed! Missy absolutely loves her grooming sessions. Because she is a long haired cat, she needs to be groomed every day. Toward the afternoon, if she hasn't been brushed, she will leave her cat tree to find us and sit and stare and trill until we realize it's time for her brushing! She would have us brush her all day long if she could!

Because Missy considers the kitchen her domain, the bags of groceries we bring in on shopping day she considers hers as well! She goes around inspecting the contents of each and every bag. She has never tried to rip open or eat anything, she just likes to inspect everything.

Since Missy has gotten up in years, she has developed arthritis in her hind legs. Most of the time it isn't a real problem for her except she can no longer jump to the top of her favorite cat tree. Since a ramp would be too steep and stairs wouldn't get her up high enough, we build a series of shelf-like steps along one wall so she could get to the top of some cabinets. From there she can walk along the top of the cabinets to her tree.

Most of her day is spent at the top of her tree sleeping and waiting for her daily grooming. Missy is an absolute joy to have around and we believe she is as happy as we are that she was able to make her home with us all those years ago!

Our hearts were broken this past Christmas day when our beloved Missy passed away. She had her breakfast, watched us open presents, had her special Holiday grooming, then went up to the top of her tree for a well deserved nap.

Around 3:00 that afternoon, several of us had an odd, uncomfortable feeling come over us and noted that the other cats had been going up to the top of Missy's tree, sniffing her, then turning around and coming down but not leaving the room. We went to Missy, started petting her, and immediately knew she was gone.

After the initial shock wore off, amid tears and smiles, we shared stories of Missy and the joy she had brought to our lives. We are comforted in knowing that Missy had lived a good and happy life with us and we feel blessed to have known her. She will be in our hearts forever.