China Cat

The most beautiful, Her Highness La Princessa de Amour

China was one of those unexpected gifts in our life. When we were visiting the house in 1993 before we moved in, along came a beautiful white cat to check us out. Our realtor, an avid cat lover, started loving on her and said "What a pretty kitty you are! Maybe these nice boys will get you some hard kibble and a brush." Well, that was our cue. Neither Tom nor I had been cat afficionados before. But we went out and got some kibble and a brush, and started feeding her. We learned through neighbors -- who all loved her -- that she had lived on this block for years. She was sweet and loving. And we came to love her, too. When Tom would be working on the house outside, she would check out what he was doing. When our car came home, she would trot over to the side of the driveway and kerplunk on her side, waiting for us to get out and love on her belly. She always remained an outdoor kitty due to Wes' allergies. But it was so comforting to have her asleep on the back stoop. Or, when the weather got cold, to tuck her in on some towel binkies in the garage. Tom even set her up with a cat door, a night light and a binky warmer.

(The picture above was taken in the garage as she lounged atop one of the cars one night.)

In September, 1998, our dear Love Princess was doing her Royal Duty supervising & approving Tom's deck work when we noticed that she'd suddenly started drinking a lot of water, and wasn't eating. We took her to the vet. It turns out her little kitty kidneys had given out.

We miss her wonderful, reassuring presence greatly.