Darswords

He came to us by way of Garden Grove on a long drive to Reno. Kieu was loading her car for the trip to see her boyfriend. It was three in the morning. Suddenly this little tiger kitten hopped in the car.

Kieu bought a disposable kitty litter and a small amount of food and water for the kitten’s first car trip. The kitty sat on Kieu’s shoulder as co-pilot, or Argh the cat.

It was too late to do a door-to-door search for a missing cat. Kieu did her due diligence the next morning by calling her mother to see if their neighbors were missing a kitten. No.

So Kieu asked if we wanted the kitten. Of course.

It was love at first sight. Mister Golden Eyes. Tiger Eyes. Dragon Eyes. Names ran through my head. Nothing quite did the job. I looked over at our tuxedo cat, Panda. OH! We have a Panda Bear. How about a Teddy Bear to make the team?

And he was a cuddly Teddy Bear. When not cuddling, he was energy-plus. He could rocket through a room, flying for places only a bird could. He kept me busy. He kept me company while my husband worked nights, and I felt so alone for a while.

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I was in pain. Teddy could figure out where I hurt the most. He would climb on me and curl up. Then he would purr the pain away. I called him the magical kitty.

Teddy slept with me. If it was cold, he would crawl under the covers with me.

There was only one problem. Everything we owned soon smelled like Teddy. He scratched and sprayed everything. I still have things I can’t repair or eliminate the scent. But he was mature enough to get neutered. That problem was easily fixed. Now my little buddy was at his best.

Teddy was happy if I read to him, if I sang and played the piano, or if I needed to chat. He was there.

One day, Teddy slipped out of the apartment. He just disappeared. I thought it was months. I missed him so much. I cried in worry that he would be hit by a car or someone awful would hurt him.

Chris says it was about a week that we got a phone call. The lady said that she had a cat on her bed whose tags said Teddy and had this phone number. He had just wandered into this apartment that looked like all the others in our complex. He had just wandered in like he lived there.

I was in a lot of pain. Emotionally and physically. I couldn’t leave the house. Chris went to the lady’s place to get him.

Oh, my goodness, he was skinny and dirty. He looked like he’d been living under cars this whole time. Now that he was back, I was going to make sure he didn’t get out again. It was time to fatten him up and clean him up. It took a while.

We were at our weekly writer’s meet when we got a call. Panda had been playing and suddenly dropped dead. We were told it was either a heart attack or a stroke. That was sad for all of us. Panda was a gorgeous cat. He has a story of his own.

Okay, let me take the side trip. When we lived in Riverside, we found a kitten howling in the mall parking lot. My daughter and I looked everywhere and found this little guy in a wheel well of a car. He had a little white mark that made him look like a priest. My daughter named him Limey. Don’t ask why. I have no idea.

Limey would play fetch. He was a smart little guy. We all loved him. The kids were getting ready to move out into their own lives. The cat that raised them, as second mom, Kimberlina (Kimbie), was quite ill. She was very old. We think about twenty years old. Limey gave us a bright spot in the day.

But it was near Halloween. Limey was a black cat. Suddenly he disappeared. We didn’t know where. We put out ads. Suddenly there was a call. This lady said she knew she didn’t have our kitten. But this was a black cat that looked to be dipped in white paint. He had been on the lady’s roof for days as he was afraid of her dogs. Would we take him instead?

Well, yes. Never got Limey back. Never sure what happened. But Panda was now a part of our household. Kimbie passed about that same time.

So back to the moment. Panda passed of a heart attack, and Teddy was the only bear. He seemed lonely. So for the first time, we pursued getting a cat. In our lives, cats appear, and we grow together. But Teddy needed a furball friend. So we found Rosey at the shelter. She fell in love with Chris. She is his cat. But she was a friend for Teddy.

And so when we moved from Reno to Christmas Valley, Teddy and Rosey were on leashes and loved the trip. They loved their new home with h more room than that tiny apartment. Teddy had me. Rosey had Chris. Then a new dog came to live with us. Teddy thought I had betrayed him, and he stopped coming to me. He stayed with Rosey and Chris while I learned to bond with Kali, who seemed to be in need of a service person.

These last few years together. Teddy and Kali cuddled close to each other to keep warm. They seemed to watch out for each other. And both kept me warm and feeling loved.

Just midnight, when Chris woke me, Teddy was no longer with us. I can’t stop crying, but I am glad we didn’t have to take him for that hour-and-a-half ride to the vet. That is a hard ride for all of us. But he chose to go in his sleep. He is no longer in pain. But gosh, I miss him. My little buddy. I didn’t know I had so many tears in me.

In dedication to him, I will have a ginger boy in the NaNoWriMo I’m writing who is a curious, adventurous, but a lovable boy. His name will be Teddy. At least Mr. Golden Eyes will live little longer in fun and action!