Hootie, the one with the udders

Two years ago, when Hootie still had a 'swinging' belly we called udders.
May 18, 2011 is when Hootie went to Heaven.

Letter to Hootie

Dear Hootie,

I must confess that I always thought of myself as a dog person. When I was a baby my parents had to give away our kitten because I was allergic to him.

Since then I grew up with dogs, and later ferrets until I met you.

I know it wasn’t love at first sight.

Butter was how I buttered up to you, and once I got to know you I knew you were no ordinary cat.

I actually wondered many times if you knew you were a cat. You acted so much like a dog most of the time, and even learned to act like a ferret when there were treats involved!

You were not thrilled with the ferrets, though. You did not quite get to the snuggling part as I had hoped, but you tolerated them and I like to believe you had a strange bond with them in the end.

You slowly but surely crept into my heart.

You were terrified of balloons, so I made sure nobody brought them into our house;

You sat up like a ferret, and I rewarded you with ferret paste;

You jumped onto my pregnant belly from the window sill, and I was mad at you for days;

You snuggled up against my growing belly and purred loudly, making a little Jacuzzi for Kaitlyn, and I loved you for it;

You got mad when we put a Santa hat on you for the Christmas picture, and I made sure Daddy would not ever do that again;

I shared my milk with you and you loved me for it;

The maddest I have ever seen you is when we tried to rescue a little kitten until we could find the owner. You made sure that we knew in no uncertain terms that a scrawny creature like that living under the same roof was completely unacceptable to you. To prove your point you jumped first on daddy’s lap, then on mine and hissed at us right into our faces, just making sure…and we made sure to never, ever do that again;

You tried to escape by jumping off the balcony only to bounce back from the screen, and daddy still cracks up every time he thinks about that;

I told you to stop sleeping practically on top of my face, tickling me with you whiskers, and you started purring loudly, making it impossible for me to get any sleep at all;

You tried to escape once more by hiding under the trailer next to our house in Louisiana, and we got you out safely by waving deli meat under your nose;

You reverted back to the ‘ferret’ pose when we got the annoying Fudgie, and you sat on your hind legs and batted the dog’s face with both front paws;

You could not clean your whiskers when you had to wear a cone around your neck, and I cleaned them for you;

You called out a few minutes before you passed away, and KK and I held you and told you we love you…

I miss you so, my sweet Hootie bootie!

I want you to know that these are just a few of the things I remember about you. You had so much personality, such charm and such beauty. You are the most handsome kitty I have ever known and I love you.

I can’t wait to see you again.

Love,

Mommy