CATS I HAVE LOVED (AND STILL DO!): FLUFF (& THE LBC)

Pets have always been an important part of my life. Rumor has it that my first word was "kitty" which is fitting. My world has been honored by a number of wonderful animals, and from each I have grown a little, learned a little and loved a lot.

Fluff came into my life about 11 years ago along with her side kick "The LBC" (The Little Black Cat). Fluff came from an awful animal hoarding situation in Loudon County long before shows like Hoarders was on. The story was that she was one of more than 100 cats left in a home after the owner had passed. The cats, being hungry, ate the only thing available to them.

Each other.

We jokingly refer to her as "The Cannibal Cat" and warn people to keep moving around her. If she licks you, which is common, it is only for a sample taste.

Fluff entered my life shortly after the loss of my beloved cat Minou. I had Minou through my formative years - my twenties - and he was there for all of the good, bad and ugly. His fur soaked my tears and he enjoyed my hugs and kisses for years. He was a tough act to follow...

My friend Adrienne had a friend with some "special needs" cats that were being fostered. I decided that after having had such a wonderful cat in Minou, I owed it to the animal kingdom to do something for an animal in need. And boy, were these cats in need.

I met Fluff and The LBC (then going by the names Julie & Skye) in a very nice room in a house in the country. They were not "people" cats. They were technically not even "daylight" cats. I think they lived like moles under furniture sneaking out to snatch bites of food when no one was looking.

Fluff is a beautiful black and white domestic long-haired cat and The LBC was a jet black tiny, tiny domestic short-haired cat. Both of them combined tipped the scales at about 10 lbs, on a good day, after a full meal, and a lot of water. Fluff was eventually renamed Fluff because she resembles a little tiny piece of cat fluff, blowing across your floor. And The LBC - well I should think that is self-explanatory.

I don't know that I had fallen in love with them, but I took them home anyway. They needed me.

Life with my new charges was interesting to say the least.

On a good day, I actually saw one of them.

They each had very distinctive personalities: Fluff was in charge, the guardian, and she would NOT tolerate being touched. The LBC was actually slightly more desperate for affection and she would engage in what became an evening ritual where I would sit in the middle of the floor and hold out my hand. She would come out and run by for a quick pet. She was always moving and circling around for another run and I had to hold perfectly still or she would run away and hide again. This went on and on and was dubbed "drive-by petting" and she loved it.

Fluff on the other hand wasn't so easily won over.

At some early age Fluff had decided that people were good for two things: cruelty and food. She was always in fear of what would happen to her if she got close or dropped her guard. She was impossible to pick up, tough to touch and could turn into a shrieking banshee at any given moment.

Once during a Mexican stand-off with my husband she sunk her teeth to the gums in his arm. "Try to move me, will you!"

Years went by and gradually she mellowed a bit, snuggling with The LBC and napping in the sunshine. Occasionally she'd be caught red-pawed playing delightfully with a toy but was otherwise still very standoffish.

Then one day, about three years after she came to live with me, the unexplained happened. Some strange switch in her head flipped and she went from crazy demonesque cat to snuggly lap cat. Overnight.

Literally.

And I mean a switch flip. One day, one way, one day the other. And once she let down her guard, she become so lovey and sweet. It was as though she was trying to make up for lost time. Laps that had come and gone and never been slept on. She needed people!

Fluff is still with us today and is a ripe old 16 years old. Sadly, The LBC passed quietly in her sleep about five years ago. But we like to think she lived out the rest of her life happy. I have many stories of The LBC that I will share later.

Fluff is now stone cold deaf, has cataracts, weighs 4 lbs, 4 ozs, is arthritic, has hyperthyroidism and never passes up the chance to warm a lap. She sleeps more than most cats and is in the beginning stages of kidney failure. She croaks out her meows like a seasoned smoker and could benefit from a cat-sized walker. She still uses a litterbox but is occasionally overwhelmed by her bodily functions and is forced to go RIGHT THIS MINUTE. And that is horrifyingly embarrassing for her. There is a sense that she may live for either a month or 10 more years. She has become the "little old lady" in our life but she is still in charge. She is the official welcoming committee for friends and guests.

One day I will miss her rules and schedules, her snuggles and purrs. She has taught me patience and tolerance.

I'm glad she came to join us all those years ago. It was a tough battle but I think she finally won.