A Girl and her Cat

Two years ago during Christmas, I eagerly waited in the backseat of the car as my parents and I drove to the local animal shelter. I was going to get a kitten as a Christmas present and I couldn't be more excited! True, we had other cats at home and I loved them all dearly but there's nothing like a little kitten to spend the cold winter months with.

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We looked at all of them and my eyes fell on an adorable grey kitten sitting in one of the cages. She had big green eyes and a mischievious glint in them. I put my finger into the cage and she nuzzled it. My parents called me over to look at another cat and I moved to go to them when the grey kitten from before reached out, snagged my coat, and pulled me back to watch her play with the toys she had in there. Finally, there was no getting around it. I asked to hold her and the moment that I had her in my arms it was love at first sight.

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Ever so gently, she reached up and patted my cheek with one paw. Needless to say, she came home with us that day. We named her Libby and she became a well known member of the family by torturing our older cats mercilessly by beating the crap out of them

She also beat up my grandmother's dog since he was staying with us while my grandmother was on vacation. The dog was a year old and she was only four months old.

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She and I became fast friends. Libby was, and still is, very loving to me and could always be found not far from my side. My father adores her and she likes him too, but if she had a choice as to who she would want to stay with at night, it would be me. She and I had two weeks to bond and those two weeks cemented the connection she and I had had the moment we met. Unfortunately for my mom, she was too busy taking care of the dog to be able to spend time with Libby and therefore could not bond.

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Now, I live with a chronic illness so there came a time when I needed to be put into the hospital because I got sick. While I was gone my mother said that Libby was inconsolable. She would go around the house crying and looking for me. Finally, when I was getting to feel better I called home to tell my mom we were going to be discharged when she told me to say Libby's name. When I did so, I heard Libby chirp in the background. Then I heard a purring noise on the other line. My mother said that Libby was nuzzling the phone and chirping every time she heard my voice.

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Libby and I play a game that we call "Monster". I pretend to be chasing her and she dashes off through the house. She's extremely intelligent so she knows that if she jumps behind the washer then I can't get her. I'll just start walking out, "Sorry Libby, I'm leaving." And then she'll pop out and rush out after me. She likes car rides and has a little harness that we put her on if I'm going to be out in the garden. At night my mother says she'll peek in my room to check on me and she'll see Libby sleeping with her cheek pressed against mine.

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