My Person

There she was always, sitting under the shade of the money-plant, her golden brown fur glittering in the morning sun. She would look up at you, with those almond shaped green ayes and pad softly over to lend a loving purr or simply a shoulder to cry on. Her name was Kitty and she was 14 years old. She had been with us since her kitten days, my sister finding her behind an old dustbin behind our house. She was scared of us and was she tiny!
A few days later we found out that a tom cat had murdered and literally beheaded all her siblings and she was the only one who had survived. We cried when we came to know this horrible incident and vowed to give a home to our newest family member.

But I wasn't happy. Kitty quickly took to my mother in terms of the youngest sibling. Whenever I wanted to sit in Ammi's lap, she would roll over from wherever she would have been lolling around and would jump up into my mothers lap, glinting at me from behind those mischievous eyes. We hated each other.
My hatred grew so much that one day, while my mother and everyone in the house was sleeping, I took her out and threw her down from the balcony! The nerve of me! But she landed on her four paws much to my utter disappointment and had to bear harsh words from my family. How could you do such a thing? They all asked me. I could only shrug and mumble while Kitty gloated and purred in my mothers lap.

Then I turned eight and we shifted into another house. I was residing at my uncle's for a few days and came back hoping Kitty was lost somewhere in the past, but she turned up just the same, a scared ball of fur. I'm sorry to say I aggravated anxious behaviour just a bit more.
We had a series of small fights after our move. We despised each other so much. But the irony of it all is, Kitty always used to sleep with me. My sister said it was due to the fact that my small body covered only one half of the bed, leaving the other half free for Kitty to stretch and turn. Or maybe it was just a ploy to make me develop asthma. Thanks Kitty.
When I turned 12, my parents got divorced and there was no Ammi for Kitty. I don't know how but she quickly made spaces in our hearts for herself and my sister and I, helplessly feel in love with her. She used to stay in our room, sleeping with me. She was our baby, the center of our lives.
During all this time, many of our pets died. We had 12 cats! I always used to cry and it left me heart-broken. But my conscious at all times sought out Kitty. She was always there.
The winter of 2012, the blackest winter if I ever saw one. I was 19 and Kitty was 14. I noticed she wasn't breathing properly and her stomach made abnormal movement. We took her to the vet and came to know the shattering news: her liver and kidneys were failing and she was going into Congestive Cardiac Failure. We were both aghast. The reality was far too scary to even face. We were going to lose her.
But still, we took her for an X-Ray and blood test. She was so terrified and panic-stricken, I had to hold her down very gingerly. The tests were done easily but my sister and I both knew, they were useless.
That night, I cried a lot. Kitty was sitting under the bed and came out to console me. Her purrs made me go to to sleep right there on the floor beside her. It was the longest night of our lives. And the most dreadful.
Kitty was euthanized on 5th November, 2012. I can and will never forget her. She was my best friend who listened to me, who didn't judge me. She consoled me whenever I was sad and helpless. She was more than a cat. She was a part of our family and always will be. No matter how many cats I keep in the future now. Kitty will always be the one who was my equal. No cat can ever replace her. I love you Kitty.