I grew up with cats. In fact, the first word I ever spoke was cat. I adore cats and couldn't wait to get my own. I adopted one of my parents' cats, Evinrude, and then got two kittens, Kit and Boo. When I moved to a new apartment, I could only have two pets, so I reluctantly let Evinrude go back to my parents' house. Frankly I think she was happier there, away from the kittens. Boo passed away from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy one month before her second birthday. Devastated doesn't begin to describe how I felt. I still cry thinking about it, and it was seven years ago. A few months later, I adopted Athena, and she brought light back into my life again. Right from the start, she and Kit got along -- most of the time! They are a good match.
For years, I struggled with an addiction that nearly killed me. In fact, there were times when I wanted to die. It is not an exaggeration to say that the only thing that kept me going was my cats. On days when I felt like I couldn't get out of bed, I knew I had to get up to feed them. When I cried, they comforted me. When I wanted to die, I stayed alive to take care of them. Now that I am healthy and am living a positive life, my cats help me through my day to day problems and also the big things, like when my dad died two months ago. I honestly don't know what I would do without them. I am so grateful for them! I think every day should be World Cat Day!
