Ten Years - Meow!

It was 10 years ago this past Thanksgiving, November 28th, that I got my first fuzzy little baby.  I went with my ex-something to the Animal Humane Society in Coon Rapids in 2003 to look at cats.  I can't remember I really had intentions of getting one before we got there or if we just went to look.  Either way, I saw many cats but there was one cat that caught my eye.  No, it wasn't because he was the most playful or the prettiest, it was because he was quarantined. This cat was in a big room, all to himself because he had an eye infection that was contagious to the other cats.  He looked nice and sad at the same time with his droopy, goopy eye.  He had been there since the day before Halloween and that saddened me even more that he had been there a month.  

I walked into the empty room and walked right up to the orange tabby that was sitting high above the ground on his perch.  He let me pet him and he was gentle and easy-going.  His name was Freddie and all I knew about his age was he was born in 2000, making him around three years old.  I was sad that everyone in the last 30 days passed him up. I decided I was going to get him.  

My ex-something bought Freddie for me as an early Christmas present.  I took him home that day in a cardboard box thinking I just bought an adult cat that has a bunk eye, ear mites and an extra long tail .  

I got home and Freddie was laid back, exploring my Minneapolis apartment.  He didn't mind it if you pet him but he wasn't going to sit on your lap.  He would follow me into every room I went though and he still does it today.  

I didn't want to keep the cat's name as Freddie but the woman at the Humane Society said that it might be difficult to change a cat's name after 3 years.  I did it anyway.  At first I named him Mangy and then Chewy and then back to Mangy.  I finally settled on Fuzzer.  Prior to getting this cat, anytime my sister and I would see a cat, we would say, "Oh, look at the baby fuzzer!"  Fuzzer was just a generic name for a cat.  He never had a problem adjusting to his new name.  Every once in a while, M and I will call him Freddie just to see if he looks.  Sometimes he does but most often he doesn't. 

Fuzzer has been my baby since the beginning.  It was just him and I before his little brother Powder joined us 4 months later.  He'd sit with me in the bathroom while I'd get ready for work and "sing".  He doesn't meow, he sings.  It's this cute little "mock-mak-mak-mock-mak-mak-mack-meh-mah..." that sounds like he's singing.  It was MANY years before I actually heard him meow and it's still rare when he does.  

He's been a devil at times and my innocent little angel too.  In his older years, he is most definitely a lap cat, almost always opting for my lap over M's.  He's 13 now and I can't imagine living my life without him, even though that day will be coming sooner than later.  I cherish him every single day.  Love you, Fuzz!