Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Tiffin...A Love Story


I've been a dog lover all my life. I grew up with dogs and had the best one ever named, Whiskey. I still think about her years later though she has been gone for many years.

I was not a cat person. I didn't dislike cats. People who can look at little kittens and hate are evil, sorry. I just never thought to own one myself.

Then one day fifteen years ago my friend, Karen, started feeding a stray cat who wandered around her apartment complex. I'm sure you've heard this story before, it happens all too often, the cat ended up being pregnant. Six little kittens were born. At the time I lived in an apartment myself that did not allow pets.

But the first time I saw Tiffin, a little tiger-striped kitten, I fell in love. She was tiny and oh so precious. Karen could tell I was weakening every time I saw the little kitten. Pretty soon I was agreeing to take a kitten I couldn't have.

She was so small when I brought her home even at six weeks I was always afraid of stepping on her. From the very beginning she was too cute for words. She would crawl onto my chest and lay there and purr. I had just returned from a trip to Ireland and my tour guide was a wonderful old Irish woman named Tiffin and thus Tiffy received her name.

I've never known a cat who loved her name more than Tiffy. We'd call her Tiffers, Tiff, Tiffy. She loved them all and knew every nickname.

Eventually I got suckered into taking her brother, too, but that's another story.

Tiffin never did get very big, weighing at the most about 7 pounds. Over the years she did so many cute things and was a wonderful companion. I am sure we all know how much we end up loving our pets.

Well, now, nearly fifteen years later, my little Tiffy is sick. I won't go into the gory details but suffice it to say it might be cancer and I'll likely be forced to make an extremely tough decision. She's given me many years of love and though I am not ready to say goodbye, I wouldn't want her to suffer.

So, whatever happens with Tiffin, I'll never forget that tiny little kitten who stole my heart.

13 comments:

  1. Huge hugs S.

    Can we have a Tiffin pic??

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  2. Yeah, I'll look tonight when I get home, I know I have them there.

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  3. Aw, I'm sorry Shawn :(

    My mom's boxer is actually sick with pancreatic cancer right now. She's spent a fortune in special medications to keep him alive. But he's so sick and can barely get around any more. It's killing everyone to think she will have to be put down, but it's really not fair to let him suffer.

    I'd love to see a pic of Tiffin, too :)

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  4. Good Thoughts and Gentle wishes to you both.

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  5. What a sweet Kitty your Tiffin is. Jack and I will keep our happy thoughts and prayers for you both.
    ((((Shawn and Tiffin))))

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  6. She's such a cute kitty. Thanks for sharing the pic. I'm so sorry she's not feeling well. (((hugs)))

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  7. (((hugs)))

    I'm so sorry your kitty is sick; I know how important our pets become to us. They love us unconditionally, and they comfort us when we are upset or ill. I'll be devastated when it's time to say goodbye to my cats.

    I'll be keeping you and Tiffin in my thoughts and prayers.

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  8. Thanks for your very kind words

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  9. She's adorable Shawn :)

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  10. No wonder you feel in love with her! She's precious! I'll keep you and Tiffin in my prayers tonight.
    Hugs to both of you.

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  11. Tiffin is as sweet as her owner. She's a doll!
    I'll be praying for her.

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  12. She looks like my Tinkerbell! I feel in love the moment I looked into Tinkerbell's eyes, so I can relate to the love at first sight thing.
    I'm sorry Tiffin is sick. I hope it's not as serious as you think it might be. Mine and Tink's thoughts and prayers will be with you.

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  13. Thanks everyone again for your lovely thoughts. I'm still waiting for results. But I really appreciate your kind words.

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