R.I.P Little One

On September 14 I got up and followed the cats down the hall to give them their morning meal.  I noticed that Little One did not come to eat. I went looking for him and found him lying in his litter box.  I spoke to him, he did not move.  I touched him, he was room temperature and his body was stiff.  Little One had died during the night. Little One was the offspring of Mama Cat.  She had produced three litters in her first year and a half of life. Little One was one of them. I finally caught her and got her to the vet to be spayed.  She is still pretty much wild but living inside.

I have five cats living inside now that Little One is gone.  But there are also four cats that come to the porch twice a day to be fed.  All my cats have been rescued, the ones on the porch want to be rescued too but they’ll have to find another home.

Below are Mama Cat and Little One in a picture taken a couple years ago.

Let me tell you about Little One.  He used to come in and wake me up in the morning.  Both he and Imp and Kali would come in when it was close to breakfast time.  I would feel them coming onto the bed and even in the dark be able to tell which was which by the positions they chose to lay down in.  Kali would press against my legs near my feet. Imp would straddle my legs near my knees or else lay down on my chest.  Little One would come and stick his nose in my face and more often than not scoot under the covers with me and fall asleep.  He loved to have his belly rubbed and would roll over on his back with his legs splayed apart so i could rub his belly..

  Little One as a kitten.

  

Little One waiting for kitty treats.

Little One was ‘my’ cat.  Every day when I would be sitting at the computer he would come to visit.  He would begin his visit by taking his paw and tapping my leg with it.  I’d look down and he’d more often than not peer into my eyes and I'd tease him asking “what do you want?” Little One then would look to the kitty treat container and then back to me. I knew he was there to tell me it was kitty treat time it was a game we played.  As soon as I picked up the box and the rest of the cats heard it they’d all be there. 

Here’s Little One on my lap in a fairly recent picture.

He won’t be coming to wake me up, or tell me it’s kitty treat time or sit on my lap anymore.  He’s spending his time here. 

The day after Little One died Kali got onto my lap four times. She never once had wanted to be on my lap and wouldn’t stay if I picked her up and sat down with her. And Imp who had never done it before came and tapped me with his paw the way Little One used to do.  It seemed clear to me that they understood Little One was gone. 

     

  Little One in 2013

Well Little One deserves to be remembered.  I sure do miss him climbing up on my lap.