Tuesday, January 29, 2013

#iPPP & WW { The Other Woman }

Driving north, the green freeway signs continued to pass on my right, assuring me the small town my new boyfriend lived in was getting closer.
 
I might have been a touch nervous.  My first visit to his place and I had heard all about the other woman who lived there.
 
Word on the street was how fiercely she ruled the nest.  Supposedly, it could get downright nasty if her claws were out.  She never hesitated to tell any female exactly what she thought of them.

I wanted none of that.
 
No way was she going to interfere with my first visit to my new man.
 
Whipping my li'l white car into the driveway, turning the engine off, grabbing my purse, stepping out and squaring my shoulders.  I climbed the stairs, determined.
 
A single knock on his door and there he is.  Leaning in, he tries to kiss me.  No.
 
"Where is she?"

"What?"
 
"You can have a kiss after.  Where is she?"
 
"Oh.  She's over there, on the couch."
 
Without hesitation, I walked away from him and over to her.
 
Holding out my hand to her, I waited.
 
She sniffed.  She gave me the eye.  She opted to play coy and appear bored.
 
But, I knew.  I was in.

 
You see this sweet, nearly twenty year old kitty?
 
This is Bonnie, the other woman.
 
Legend has it, before I came into the picture, this sweet, innocent looking cat would hiss and spit at any female that came over.  And I'm not a fool, I knew who's fur not to ruffle.  While she merely tolerated me in the beginning, there was never a hiss for me and ultimately, she came to know where to get the best cheek scratches.
 
On January 16th, Bonnie passed away in my husband's arms, just like her brother did three years ago.  This photo was taken two days before she left us, happily soaking up sunshine.
 
We miss her.  But, there are so many sweet and often silly memories with this li'l nine pounder.  She was a Manx/Siamese/Tabby mix and high on personality.
 
In her younger years, you had to keep your eyes peeled with this one.  She was the original Stealth Kitty and could jump up, cross your lap and steal a piece of pepperoni off the slice of pizza in your hand and you would never know - until you looked at said toppingless piece.
 
Bottlecaps were prized kitty toys.
 
There was never a sun's ray she didn't like.
 
The same kidlet who sent her running for the hills when he learned to walk as a tyke later became her best buddy to hang with.  They were amazing calming forces for each other and in her last year, when arthritis was hitching her hips, he was her own personal physical therapist getting her to go on "Walk Races" back and forth, until she no longer limped - every single day.

 
And she was the bomb at the photobomb and never failed to get in on everything I snapped out on her deck.

We love her.  We miss her.  We happily remember her.
 
 
Linking up with these awesome sites - come join us!

24 comments:

  1. I so laughed at the Kitty photobomb. Bless her. I gave my Dad a black kitten that I got and couldn't take with me to a new apartment. She became Kitty and his third daughter. Cats are wonderful and have their own way of intertwining their lives with ours. Your boyfriend's Kitty looks just like our Jingle. A tabby my husband gave us on our first Christmas together. She made it 14 years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That new boyfriend became my husband and his cats were a package deal with him. :> And you're so right, cat's really do intertwine themselves into our lives! :>

      Delete
  2. Aw, how sad. Glad you all had so many years with her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just shy of twenty years made for a whole lot of great memories. And I love that.

      Delete
  3. I am so sorry for the loss of your beautiful kitty (the other woman. lOl)

    http://tc-twistedfairytale.blogspot.ca/2013/01/wordless-wednesday-little-prince-and.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She really was the other woman...at first. She was just used to ruling the roost! lol

      Delete
  4. Great story! So sorry for your loss!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Alicia. It was actually a bit nice to travel down memory lane to when I was first dating my then boyfriend and now husband and the first time I met the other woman in his life. ;>

      Delete
  5. Oh, so very sorry for your loss. She sounds like a phenomenal companion. The story you told of how you were introduced all the way up to her final days--so touching and filled with love. She'll be missed for sure. Hugs to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a great litter of kitties. The mama cat was a friend of my then boyfriend, now husband's. He took two of the kitties and another friend took another one. They were all kind of silly, giving us lots of great memories to remember them by. :>

      Delete
  6. Oh hon! I'm so sorry for your family's loss. But what a wonderful tribute to her! (hugs)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Mandy. Funny thing is, hubs was only going to take her brother. But, they were the only two of the litter showing off their Manx traits, sans tails, so his friend insisted he take both as a matched set. Little did he know at the time, Bonnie would make up for the missing tail with all kinds of personality. :>

      Delete
  7. Oh, I love this tribute. I had to win over my husband's dog before we got too serious, so I know how important it is to get in good with the furry friends first. I love that she was so close with your boy and they helped each other. I hope everyone is doing well with her gone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, furry friends are the gatekeepers, right?! :> We all loved her, but Bonnie & my boy were exceptionally close. Some of my favorite pictures are of him doing his homework reading with her sprawled out next to him.

      Delete
  8. Aww, what a wonderful tribute to your feline family member. Great photos too. I hope you all are doing ok!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Aw, sweet kitty. Such wonderful memories. I love how you started this out and let us know how you met her... :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Awww - what a pretty kitty and sweet story. I'm sorry for your loss. :(

    ReplyDelete
  11. How sad..... But what fun memories!

    ReplyDelete
  12. *tear* We lost one of my 10-yr old cats a few months ago - lovvvvved this post. And then the photobomb made me snortlaugh. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I had a friend that adopted a dog that liked only women. She heard the refrigerator door opening all night. By morning, the dog was her husband's dog. She and daughter would be second fiddle to this dog too. Enjoyed your story. I am a big animal lover too.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm so sorry for your loss. She was absolutely beautiful and I'm glad she liked you immediately. When I my husband and I started dating and he'd come over, my cat would sit right between us and act as "chaperone." He's 17 now and still playing chaperone!

    ReplyDelete
  15. A wonderful tribute to a grand lady. I listen to mine as well. So sorry she had to leave, but I have no doubt she's waiting to greet you again some day.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm so sorry for your loss. Over this last year, I lost both of my childhood kitties, one 19 the other 20. It was so hard. When they live so long, you think they're going to live forever.

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a wonderful tribute to your precious fur baby ... they leave such a huge hole in our hearts. Then i tell myself that that is it, and there will be no more and yet here i am, 3 cats and a whole new dog.
    Much love to you and you will think of her every single time the sun streams thro the window and sunbeams play in your home. xxx

    ReplyDelete

Thank You for visiting! I appreciate and am grateful for all of You who craft some of Your time to leave me comments!

Blog Widget by LinkWithin