We Called Her Miss Kitty

I dubbed her Miss Kitty, perhaps not too original but I was actually honoring the saloon owner in the old Gunsmoke TV series who was always addressed as Miss Kitty by Festus.  (Am I dating myself?  Are you old enough to have any idea what I'm talking about?)  The Miss Kitty in the TV series was a feisty gal and so was her namesake.  Unfortunately, my Miss Kitty passed away on Tuesday.  She was part of the 'three musketeers' - three stray cats that hung around in my yard on a regular basis.

Miss Kitty had a quirky personality and if you tried to pet her she would hop away like she thought you were trying to grab her.  I could manage to get a few strokes in as long as she didn't see my hand coming in her direction.  She had been improving on that in the past few months.  She would also stick out a paw and try to grab your ankle once in a while.  While Romeo is the sweetie and Van Gogh is the shy one, of the three strays she definitely had the most personality.  Miss Kitty always had a sparkle in her eye.

Last week she wasn't acting like she felt very well and I didn't see her for a day or two.  When she returned she acted like she was moving carefully and I thought maybe she'd been hit by a car.  She gradually came around and seemed to be almost 100 percent again.  But I didn't see her at all on Monday and she wasn't around for breakfast Tuesday morning.  I mentioned to my neighbor that she was 'missing' again.  I walked right by my neighbor's yard and didn't see her.  Then my neighbor across the street knocked on my door Tuesday afternoon and said that Miss Kitty was found dead in my next door neighbor's yard.  It was a sad day indeed, but at least I know that in the last few years of her life she had all the food she needed and as much care as I could give her without actually bringing her inside to the disgruntlement of my own cats.  Miss Kitty, RIP.  You will be missed.