Name: Kitty
Alias: The Duchess, Titty City, Shadow
DOB: 05/13/1998, in Anchorage, Alaska
Date of Death: 06/06/2011 (age 13 years)
Genus/species: Felis catus
Common name: Domestic long-haired tabby
Color: Grey, tan
Sex: Female
Weight: 6.5 lbs. (max weight: 12 lbs, pre-hyperthyrodism, pre-amputation)
Likes: Cuddling, pizza, sweatshirts, sleeping in the drycleaning, not caring about things other cats care about, boxing matches, peeing/pooping standing up, candy corn, catnip
Dislikes: Lola
Special Fact: She only has three legs.
Significant medical history: Two hospitalizations for unknown stomach illnesses, hyperthyrodism, leg amputation, death
Kitty had a tough go of it. I moved to Chicago in June 2005. On my very first day in my new apartment, seven-year-old Kitty, finding herself otherwise homeless, came to live with me. She was named "Shadow" at the time and had all four legs. When it became clear her actual owner was not coming back for her, she became my cat. Lola moved in with us 8 months later, and the feud between the two of them began that continued to Kitty's death. After moving to New York, Kitty started losing weight and was diagnosed with hyperthyrodism. She was medicated twice daily, transdermally through her ears. A short time after her hyperthyrodism diagnosis, a growth appeared on her back right leg, which turned out to be a vaccine-induced tumor. Our veterinarian took the leg to save the cat, and Kitty lived a happy additional 11 months, only hopping instead of walking. Her biggest passion in life, and greatest skill, was cuddling, in a special way, face planted in the armpit while making muffins on the neck.
Kitty passed away, cause unknown, less than a month after her thirteenth birthday. She died naturally, and in my arms, where she had spent so much of her time in the last six years. She was one of a kind, and is, and will continue to be, missed.
All posts tagged Kitty can be found here.