My Fur Babies ~

If the kindest souls were rewarded with the longest lives, 
out pets would outlive us all.  Until one has loved an
 animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened...

Today it's all about my kitties and how grateful I am to have

 had them in my life.  To now have Sniff, and the beautiful

 memories of the ones no longer here, it is bittersweet.  I adore 

our Sniff, but I still miss my Brutus, my Shadow and my California

 kitties.  They were my first introduction to kitty love. My memories 

are mine and mine alone and some days they tear me apart.

 But I would not change anything, because if I did I
may not have experienced all the love they gave me
 and all the joy that came from having them in my
life.  I am a better person because of my kitties.

This was my Reba (below).  The first kitty I ever had. 

 Home was California.  One day my first husband 

Paul Michael Riley, and I were having dinner.
We heard a meow coming from the dumpster.

The year was 1990.  Little did I know how much
my life was about to change in the next 3 years.

We named her after Reba McEntire 💚

 There was this tiny little kitty searching for food. 

 Enter Reba into our lives, and that was the start for me.

  She loved me and I adored her.  She is the only female kitty

 I have had.  My heart still aches when I think of her.

Paul and I thought Reba was lonely so we decided to give her

 a companion.  Enter MacGyver into our lives. (pictured above)

 MacGyver was a polydactyl kitty.  He had an extra toe. And

 yes, he was named after the original MacGyver. He was 

always getting into everything. How I loved him.

 Where Reba was aloof with everyone, 

MacGyver was the total opposite.  He loved everyone,

 and even though Reba tried to ignore him,  MacGyver 

always found a way to cuddle up to her.  In the end
she tolerated him.  My first 2 babies in California.

Lil Mister became baby #3 to us.  One day Paul was

 reading the newspapers and he saw an ad saying that this

 person had so many kitties and could not care for them.  

Next thing you know we were driving to that house. 

 There were 4 kitties and Lil Mister spoke to us.  He had 

this little stain by his eye.  Looked like a permanent

 tear, and he was a chunker.  Didn't take us long to

 fall in love.  He and MacGyver became inseparable.  

Reba didn't care, she had Paul and I, and for

 her that was all she needed and wanted.

Our fourth kitty was Buddy.  A Siamese.  

Buddy was a stray.  He used to come to our backyard

 looking for food.  When we first saw him he was

 all dirty.  His white coat was black and he was scared.  

We decided we would trap him.  Take him

 to the vet and then let him go.

Didn't work out that way.  We caught him all right, but

 letting go was another story.  Buddy chose us and we could

 not just leave him out.  He became part of our family and

 suddenly we were 6.  We had a big house in California so 

space was not a problem.  The kitties had several rooms

to choose from and a double car garage.  They were 

never outdoor kitties unless we had them on a leash.

Enter Tiger into our lives.  I was at the mall and as 

I was going back to my car there was a little brown paper

 bag next to it.  Suddenly I heard a sound and I saw movement.  

Someone had dumped a little kitty in a brown paper bag.

  I had no choice.  I picked him up and took him home. 

 Tiger was so so tiny he fit in the palm of my hand.

After I left California my kitties moved with me

 to New Jersey and eventually to Florida. 

One day in October of 2006 Arvid said to me,

 "do you still want a kitty?"  You know my answer to that. 

 That same day we went to the shelter and there Brutus 

chose us to be his new mama and dada, and life

 changed for us and to this day life is definitely

 not the same without our Brutus.

Brutus died November 5th 2015.  I miss him everyday.

Within a few days we adopted Shadow.  Our home 

was too quiet without a little kitty running

 around.  The silence screamed at me.  

Maybe it was too soon to bring Shadow into our lives,

 but we did.  He was a so tiny, fearless and super energized.
We only had Shadow for 4 months.  Too traumatic

 to think about.  It kills us to think of the way he died.

March 5th 2016 Shadow died.  Both him and

 Brutus died on a 5th.  March 7th we adopted Sniff. 

 Sniff has brought joy again into our lives.

  I would be lying if I said I didn't think of Brutus

 every so often, and that I don't miss him because I do. 

 I don't think I will ever stop thinking of Brutus nor missing
 him.  He stole my heart and he will always be my baby.

 Sniff is the personification of love.  He does not

 like to be picked up, but he loves being close to us. 

The closer the better.  He makes my days better everyday.  

I see Sniff and I know everything is going to be all right.

No home is complete without
 the pitter patter of kitty feet.

The day I discovered what it was like to have a 

kitty was one of the best days in my life.  My Reba was

 the first one to give me all her love no matter what kind 

a day she had.  She was unconditional though moody.

 I loved that little girl with all my heart as I did

 with all the kitties that followed.  Each and everyone

 holds a special place in my heart, but my Brutus 

took a big chunk of my heart with him.

Today Sniff fills our days with laughter, fun and love.
  He's one very special kitty and extremely sensitive.
 I love him so much.  I sometimes freak out and worry
what I would do if something happened to him.

Our home will never be a home if we do not have a
little fur baby.  They make everything better and
they have made both Arvid and I better people.

I can't imagine life without a little kitty, and "my" kitties

 in Puerto Rico still take up room in my heart.  I think of them 

very often and I devour any information I can get about them.  

My life has given me many a blessings and I am grateful.

Cats are intended to teach us that not everything
 in nature has a function. I had been told that 
the training procedure with cats was difficult. 
It's not. Mine had me trained in two days...

~Nadiya~