Goodbye Kitty

My mother-in-law called this morning with terrible news. Hello Kitty was no longer with us. Some time between last night and this morning, she was struck by a car and killed. I had a good cry over her passing when I heard. I'm having a good cry as I write this.

Like so many self-respecting cats before her, Hello Kitty chose who she wanted to live with and where, not the other way around. She wandered the countryside around Bancroft, Ontario until she found a little house on a hill that suited her just fine. At just barely older than a kitten, she was wise enough to know that turning on the charm would go a long way toward winning over the humans living inside. They didn't stand a chance. She won over the rest of us just as quickly with her easy-going attitude.

Hello Kitty was the gentlest cat I ever knew. She was an outdoor enthusiast. Before she became acquainted with the couch, she was like a bolt of lightning when racing across a field. I'll always remember the first time I saw her do a flying leap into a tree. Rarely do I gasp in astonishment but that cat was fast. And I'll never forget the burrs that got caught in her fur. Even the unflattering trim that followed wasn't enough to change her cheery disposition. It just made her all the more endearing.

Hello Kitty's time with us was all too brief. I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to give her one last tummy rub. Goodbye Hello Kitty. You'll be missed.