A Tail of 3 Kitties!

This is the story of Sisell and Bijou and Suki.
My wonderful wonderful kitties! They have been my companions,
my 'children', and my teachers for 17, 17, and 11 years respectively now.

When I moved into an apartment that permitted pets, I immediately set about looking for a kitten to call my very own.
But it couldn't be just ANY kitten, it had to be one very special kitten, because I planned to keep it and love it for it's entire lifespan.
I began my search for my special kitten by asking a co-worker (I was working for the Kansas City Star at the time) if she knew of any kittens that needed a loving home...this co-worker was known as 'the cat lady', as she was ALWAYS trying to find good homes for homeless kitties. She told me she knew of someone with one kitten remaining from a recent litter, and told me in which department she could be found.

Sisell Rye

I found and met the lady with the kitten and made plans to go see the kitten in person - already knowing I would be taking it home with me regardless - but I just had a feeling this kitten was going to be 'special;...
When I entered the apartment (where the kitten was), I was nearly knocked over by a large, gangly Labrador Retriever puppy loping through the living room, followed by a tiny little ball of fluff! The tiny fluffball stopped in her tracks when she saw me, glared at me, arched her back, and began hopping sideways! Then she took off like a rocket pursuing the Labrador pup! I didn't even have to think when I said ' l want her!!'.
I couldn't even sleep that night, lying in bed with this nameless, precious little ball of fluff curled up in my arms - I was so elated to finally have a kitten! I scratched her ears and mrveled at her big eyes and orange front paw that looked like it had been dipped orange paint -- and she just stared at me too. And so we bonded.
It took about a week to decide on her name;
it would be Sisell Rye, named for a type of bread my current beau and I had seen at the grocery store recently!



About 2 weeks after bringing Sisell home and still settling in to my new apartment, I was hit by a drunk driver running a red light. The impact popped my driver's door open, spun my 1966 Corvair into the next block north, and sent me flying through the air into the next block south, landing in the middle of the very busy street. When I finally came to, I realized some woman was giving me last rites in Spanish, and I was taken to the hospital for my injuries. I took off the next few weeks from work to recuperate, and during that time frame I rented a VCR and movies from a video store that juuuusssttt happened to be next door to a pet shop! (This was in the early 1980's, before VCR's were a common household posession.) Each time I frequented the video store, I made a point of nosing around the pet store (had to buy toys for Sisell!)
On one of those visits, I was delighted to discover the pet shop had gotten a litter of grey kittens to sell! There was one 'special' one that really caught my attention - I held her and just fell in love with her! I could tell she had a very gentle nature. Several days later, I was back in the pet store, and the 'special grey' one was still there... Feeling it was 'fate', I asked if they took Visa, they said yes, and I said 'pack her up! I'm taking her home!'

Bijou

Now, as a first time pet/kitty owner, I had not a clue about how to 'introduce' 2 kittens to each other. Boy, did I learn quick what NOT to do!! I just barged through my apartment door, plunked the box containing the new grey kitten down on the floor, and announced to Sisell that she now had a 'buddy' and playmate!! As quick as I popped the box open, Bijou popped her head out; they took one look at each other and the hissing began. It took 2 weeks to decide what to name (Bijou), but it took 2 YEARS before the hissing stopped!
Bijou has an utterly delightful energy about her. She is very peaceful and calm, and was usually the kitty to be carried around the house when nieces and nephews visited! One thing she has always done that just endears her to me (and all who meet her) is when there is eating going on, and feeling this little 'tap tap' on my arm, it's Bijou sitting there, tapping me on the arm as if to say 'I'd like some of that too if you don't mind!" lol Friends used to come over to visit, knowing that Bijou would more likely than not position herself behind their head on the back of the chair, clamp a paw on either side of their head, and begin 'grooming' their hair for them!! I could have charged and made money for Bijou's services!! lol lol



11 years ago, a good friend who worked as a veterinary technician called me to see if I would be willing to be 'momma' to a couple of 3 week old kittens left on the clinic's doorstep. She assured me the 2 kittens she wanted me to take were quite healthy, and just needed some doting on, regular feeding, and lots of loving...so I said okay realizing this would probably be the closest I'd ever come to experiencing motherhood.
I recruited my downstairs neighbor to accompany me to pick up the little ones -- I got to see the entire litter, staying toasty warm in an incubator, and could easily see my two were by far much larger and heartier than the other 3. They were boxed up, along with several packages of kitty formula, and little nursing bottles.
I quickly settled the two newcomers into an antique wicker picnic hamper - and kept them isolated from Sisell and Bijou the first 2 weeks, at least until the kittens were crawling pretty easily, although it was humorous when they couldn't get 'traction' because the floors were highly polished hard wood!
As the kittens grew, the hissing increased from all 4 of them! well, really, it was mostly Sisell. I was careful not to give Sisell access to the kittens without myself being present, I had to take the kittens EVERYWHERE with me - to my job at the TV station, to my contra-dances, on dates, to my parents, everywhere!! They had to be fed every 3 -4 hours -- so I just carried them in my picnic hamper and they became quite the social butterflies! (I had a plastic container with lid that was ideal for a 'travelling litter box' too!)
It was a lovely motherhood experience, and the kittens became potty trained, sort of. The little boy kitten did prove he had paid attention to my preaching and proved it by wee-weeing -- in his food dish!!

Suki

As much as I would have loved to keep both of the kitten, 4 cats just didn't quite fit my budget, but I knew I wanted to keep (Suki)! She and I had 'bonded', she would come running every time I'd tap my bare foot on the floor. Her voice was and still is pure high pitched music and I just fell in love with her. Reluctantly, I found a home for Suki's brother and bid farewell to him.
Being so small still, and not wanting to leave her alone at home (no telling what Sisell would do out of jealousy ) I dubbed Suki as my traveling buddy, taking her EVERYWHERE that I went - grocery store, social events, even my job at a television station, although the newscast director wasn't too whoopee about having a kitten in the control room!
Suki usually rode in my backpack, or sometimes stretched out in the roomy sleeve of my bomber jacket, or sometimes just lounging in the back end of my postal jeep. I delivered Meals On Wheels, and would delight some of the people on my route by bringing my backpack in with me, setting it on the floor, and allowing this high pitched comical little kitten to pop her head out! She was named by an absolutely precious man named Richard, who was one of my regular stops . He wanted to know her name, and I told him I had not named her yet and asked him to do the honors. He picked her up, held her out at arm's length, looked at her for a minute, then said 'Suki, she is Suki'.
Eleven years later, Suki still has an extremely high pitched voice, is absolutely the sweeeetest kitty I have ever known, and weighs in at approx. 15 pounds! A few years ago, Richard (the man who named her) passed away...when I spoke to his daughter, I told her the story of her father naming Suki. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she thanked me for sharing that with her...and said she just loved hearing little 'stories' about her father's interactions with other people. (Rest in peace Richard!!)

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