The Story of Meow

This week we are observing Meow's 13th birthday. I say observing because we don't know her real birthday, just that it was around this time in 1999. My sister found Meow in the middle of the road that runs behind the old Cedartown Wal-Mart (now Home Depot). She was a little black and white ball of fur lying on the yellow stripe that ran down the middle of the road. Amanda stopped, scooped up the tiny kitten, and thus my life changed.

Meow hadn't been weaned. Her eyes were still blue. We had to feed her with an eyedropper every 2 hours, then massage her abdomen to help her digestive tract function. She cried constantly for days- and for a small kitten, she made a LOT of noise. I didn't have any expectations that she would live. She needed a foster mother, and no cats we knew had recently had kittens. But somehow, she did live. I was finishing my senior year of University, about to graduate. My sister was finishing her senior year of high school. And my sister couldn't keep Meow. She loved that little kitten, and I loved my sister, and to keep her heart from breaking I agreed to keep Meow - just until my sister could take her back.

There was only one problem. My then-boyfriend (now husband) Jay. He was allergic to cats (though to be fair, Jay is allergic to everything). What to do? Well....I waited until Jay had a business trip to Virginia, then went to Cedartown and brought Meow back with me to Athens. I picked Jay up from the airport with roses and chocolates, kissed him passionately, held his hand all the way home, and chatted about everything except kittens. I don't know what I was thinking; at first I thought I could keep Meow hidden in the spare bedroom and never mention her. Clearly not an option. But when we got home the problem solved itself. Jay walked through the door, flipped on the living room light. In the middle of the floor was a small black and white kitten wearing a big pink bow. Jay's first words were, "She's so tiny!" His next big mistake was letting her in the bedroom while we slept. We haven't slept alone in almost 13 years now. And my sister? Well, somehow Meow never made it back to live with her....but Meow does remember her. Whenever Amanda visits, Meow follows her around, rubbing on her, purring, and just generally being very loving. We're pretty grateful to Amanda in this house. Below is a picture of Meow the weekend she came to live with Jay and me.

Happy birthday to my fuzzy little girl!