On May 26th 2010 at around 9:00 pm; my cat Lightning got in a cat fight and died. She was always a fighter. I am glad that we did not have to put her down, she died the way she would have preferred to die.Some of my favorite things about Lightning...
- Lightning would lie on my chest every night until I would fall asleep. In fact as soon as I started pulling the blankets up she would start walking up, even when the blankets looked more like a mountain slope. I would pet her until I fell asleep and then she would usually go to my feet.
- Lightning had the most wonderful loud purr. It sounded like a motor boat. She purred even while mewing.
- Lightning would often sit by the window and do a type of cat chirp towards the birds in the trees.
- Lightning always had something to say to anyone who asked. I think she liked the sound of her own voice. She played Marco Polo very well. You would say "Lightning" and she would answer with a long loud mew. Every time without fail. She mewed when anyone was around to hear her.
- Lightning's favorite ways to sit on a couch or chair was to either look like a bear skin rug on the arm rest or chair back.
- Lightning was a media cat. She would sit in front or the T.V. and watch movies with us. I think her favorite was Wishbone, or ones with other animals. She liked the National Geographic movies about the Big Cats. She also once watched Lord of the Rings with us, however she left every time the dark music started or when the orcs came on. She also liked listening to music with us. One day we were listening to Beethoven's fifth; and her tail would go up and down with each beat of the music. It was so funny to watch. She also would join you while you were reading a book. She would sit on the arm rest and look towards your book as if she was reading it with you.
- Lightning would only ever drink out of the bathroom sink after she witnessed you running fresh water. She also began to drink out of a large seashell. I don't think she liked drinking out of something made of plastic, or stale water. When I think about it I wouldn't either.
- Lightning was the protector of her territory. She always would make sure it was still known that it was hers. She was the top cat in our house. Her sister Thunder let Lightning be in charge.
- If Lightning was lying all spread out on the ground and you rubbed her tummy she would curl up in a little ball, and do this darling thing with her head and her toes.
- Lightning loved to play with this little red rabbit foot key chain. She likewise liked to chase little doll panties or hats across the floor. She would play with paper if it was left on the floor. I can honestly say that my homework was destroyed by my cat. She was always very playful even when she was old.
- At 945 Hillview Drive there was this linoleum and just paw at it for no reason at all for a long amount of time. We said we must have brownies (as in the Fairy kind) beneath the floor for what other reason could there be for her pawing at it like that.
- Lightning would sometimes get really energetic, she would just run so fast and skid on the linoleum and run into doors or chairs.
- When Lightning was outside she was all wild and never wanted to be petted, when she was inside all she wanted was petting.
- Lightning was a very sociable cat. She loved the attention that everyone would give her.
- Lightning never clawed children when they treated her not the proper way. In fact even when they were no longer children she never clawed them.
- When I snapped my fingers she would come.
Once when I was very little I was taking a bath and thought Lightning would like to take a bath with me so I lifted her up and put her in the tub with me. She was not pleased.
Lightning hated car trips. We were moving her so we asked the vet if he had anything to calm her down in the car for several hours. He gave us a bottle of pills said for cats you only need 1/2 a pill, and it would kick in in about 1/2 an hour. It worked for Thunder but not Lightning. We ended up giving her a pill and a half. It only kicked in when we had arrived at our destination. She makes me think of someone who fights captivity of any sort. Captivity of mind or body. She was a fighter for freedom. She was a protector.
There is so much to say about Lightning. But I would just like to say I loved her very much. She was the best cat I could ever have had. I love her in every way. She had a good long life. She was around 13 years old in human years. She was kind, and well behaved. She died with her boots on and her claws out you might say. I loved her so much. I am happy she is with her sister in heaven now. (Thunder died 2 years ago.)
I love all my memories of my Cat Lightning. She was a wonderful cat. And I will never forget her.
