Abby

Abby

Almost sixteen years ago I got a phone call from Chuck and Brittany. They had been out practicing highway driving and had come up with the idea that Brittany needed a kitten on their way to Oklahoma and back. 

It had been a while since our cat Popcorn had passed away, and since Brittany had never actually had a kitten before, she had convinced her Dad that she should have one. 

To be honest I had gotten used to not having to deal with a litter box so I didn’t jump on board  the idea immediately. However, it didn’t take too much arm twisting to get me to agree to meet them in McKinney at the SPCA.

I wish I could say that we picked Abby, but if truth be told she actually picked us. To be more accurate she actually picked me. When we arrived the place was crawling with kittens so we made our way into the cat room and took a seat. 

 We weren’t there any time at all when a kitten jumped in my lap. She sat contentedly for a few moments, and then jumped down to get a bite to eat. 

As soon as she was through she jumped right back up into my lap. I remember the volunteer commenting on what had just happened, and at that moment it was pretty much a done deal. This little kitten would be accompanying us home. 

According to her collar her name was Abby, and it did seem to fit her so we just kept it, and added Lou as her middle name. It didn’t take long, though, for me to start calling her Princess Honeybun. 

When we returned home it became quickly apparent that Abby wasn’t just any ordinary cat. In many ways she reminded me of a dog. She would come running when I called her, and would roll over to have her belly rubbed. She and I instantly bonded. 

I wish I could say the same for her and Brittany, but alas it wasn’t meant to be. At age fifteen Brittany preferred spending time with her friends, which resulted in me spending quite a bit of time with Abby. 

Consequently Abby took an actual disliking to Brittany, and Brittany pretty much felt the same way. I used to tease Brittany about being jealous of Abby and reminded her that Abby would never leave for college and break her mother’s heart. 

Once Brittany unsuspectingly walked by, and was pummeled by Abby’s paws around her ankles. Abby was known to growl or hiss if Brittany got too close. Her dislike for Brittany carried over with the next generation when Brittany’s children were born. 

Abby may not have been over the moon about the boys, but they both were still fond of her.  The youngest would always request seeing Abby when we FaceTimed, and the oldest insisted that he could tell that Abby was actually warming up to him. 

As the years have gone by I’ve actually fallen to the number two spot in Abby’s life. Over the years she has fallen more in love with Chuck, and he has really won over her heart. He cradles her in his arms while watching TV as she looks up adoringly at him all the while purring loudly. She will reach out with her paw to touch his face to remind him how special he is to her. 

I’d say this noncat person has become smitten by this kitten over the last sixteen years. 

Abby celebrated her sixteenth birthday this last June. I remember when she was a kitten as I calculated her possible life expectancy I realized that she would be mine until I was sixty-four. Abby has met that milestone, but it has become more and more clear that this old girl is not long for this world. 

Yesterday we had to make that decision you never want to make. Chuck and I were with her as she crossed over that rainbow bridge. Our hearts are broken, and the tears flow as I write this. 

We’ve loved this little girl for sixteen years, and she will missed tremendously.