The "Spice" of our Life

For a time she was just that. She was another of our special kitties, the first for some of my brood.

Spice came to us from a friend needing her out because she was unhappy being confined to an apartment and was showing this unhappiness by peeing on their bathroom rug. I think she just needed to be rescued.

When they brought Spice over they told us they didn't know if she could see or hear. They had written nasty things on her flea collar like "dumb kitty" or something like that, I don't remember exactly, all I remember is that I felt bad for her being treated like that. The dad had been shooting rubber bands at her and once in the past she had a table leaf fall on her. She was one half of a set of twins, her sister was named Sugar and was no longer with us. Spice was somewhere around age 6.

The first week or so we kept her locked in the garage to get used to the smells and chaos in our home slowly. We would all go visit her and introduce ourselves. Eventually, for a time though, she became a mostly outside cat, my ex is not an animal lover. I volunteered to take her partially to help Dane get accustomed to animals, since he would have a terror attack when even a bird approached!

Eventually her personality rounded out to a very affectionate, interesting kitty. She would head-bonk us, a kitty sign of affection. If you didn't give her the attention she was craving she would gently nip your hand. She and I would have silent conversations through the window while she sat on a fencepost wanting to come in. She enjoyed sleeping on top of the aquarium light and watching the fish in the little goldfish bowl. For a while Honda had a TV commercial with birds on a wire fence. She would try to catch the birds on the TV! She would meow at Rach when she stuck her head around the corner, playing peek-a-boo. And boy! did she love cheese! We eventually started calling it "elevator" to try to avoid being accosted by the begging cat.

In her later years she began to play vigorously at night when the other cats would get locked in the bedroom and she finally had full run of the house. And to escape the firecrackers popping she would hide in the laundry basket in the cabinet in the bathroom.  And she loved to sleep in a sunny spot in the garden.

Spice was always a thin cat and ended up with hyperthyroid disease. Then she also contracted kidney disease. The last 6 months of her life Rach and I would give her subcutaneous fluids every 3rd day or so. It was like pumping her with water from the fountain of youth, she would get so much more active when she was rehydrated. She had a heating pad in the bathroom that she spent her days on.

Spice died the night before Kevin and Shirley's engagement party back in '03, while Rach and I were trying to decorate the cake. She had turned into a great cat and we were all sad to see her go. She gave us the best 10 years of her life.

She is forever sleeping in the garden now.