Miss Tiffany

I’m gearing up for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge (again: post every day for a month except for Sundays — do post the first Sunday, because it’s April 1, the first day of the challenge). I’m thinking of having a theme this year. Memories.

So that has me going through old photographs and thinking about the past. Here’s what I’m thinking about today. Tiffany, my late cat. I got Tiffany from a no-kill shelter a year or two before I met and married my husband. Our next-door son-in-law called her “The Styrofoam Kitty” because she didn’t weigh anything. Toward the end of her life, she lost her voice. She would open her mouth to meow and you could see the muscles moving, but nothing came out.

She was the most misanthropic cat on God’s green earth. (Jane, I don’t count Tootsie — she wasn’t misanthropic, she was pure ebil.) But Tiffany loved the baby. That child could do anything, and the cat would let it pass. Oh, she’d get away and hide, if she could, but she never bit or scratched, the way she would a grown-up.

Tiffany finally just got old. It happened literally overnight. One day, she was herself; a week later, she was dead. She died on the floor, next to the couch where I was sleeping so I could drape my hand over the side and be near her. She was 19.

WRITING PROMPT: Give a character an old pet.

MA
p.s. I’m posting at Fatal Foodies today on the subject of kale chips.

About

I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but now live in the woods in southern Indiana. Though I only write fiction, I love to read non-fiction. The more I learn about this world, the more fantastic I see it is.

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One thought on “Miss Tiffany

  1. Jenny

    April 5, 2012 at 10:51pm

    Sorry to hear about your cat Marian – we had a similar cat that lasted 21 years and was rescued from the “ghetto”. We called her “sniffy from the block” we loved the cat.

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      April 6, 2012 at 8:41am

      Jenny – “Sniffy from the block” — what a great name! And, wow, 21 years! You must have treated her right. πŸ™‚

      MA

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  2. Francinne

    March 1, 2012 at 10:30pm

    Hi Marian! I am definitely eager to take this challenge!

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  3. Jane

    February 29, 2012 at 1:38pm

    Hi. Marian. Bless Miss Tiffany, always. Have another name to add to the memory list: Linda Carol’s Newman passed away last month. She is missing him a lot. She has a new girl waiting on the porch, thinking about becoming an indoor girl: Miss Josie.

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      February 29, 2012 at 6:47pm

      So many names, so many characters! I remember Chita Marie. What a great name!

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  4. Ayie

    February 28, 2012 at 11:54pm

    I’d like to have this kind of challenge too…I want to give this a try…Thanks!

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  5. Nicholle Olores

    February 28, 2012 at 10:50pm

    Hahaha! I never tried A-Z challenge, I will probably try this! Thanks Marian. Love your writing prompt as always.

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      February 29, 2012 at 9:26am

      Thanks, Nicholle! It would be great to see you in the challenge. πŸ™‚

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      February 28, 2012 at 2:51pm

      Nineteen is a long time for a cat, but they never live long enough, you know? Congratulations on the new release!

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  6. Lana Kline

    February 28, 2012 at 10:13am

    It is amazing how much you can depend on your pet to be there day after day only to find that they are gone before you know it. I know that when our dog Muffy (yes, my daughter named our dog) passed away, there was a big void in our home. It really opened my eyes up to the fact that our time here on earth is limited and that we should cherish every moment.

    I think I’ll have to dig out the photo album of Muffy today – it has been awhile since I honored her memory. Thanks for the great post even though it brought a few tears to my eyes.

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      February 28, 2012 at 2:51pm

      Tiffany was already named when I got her. I would have named her Killer. But she redeemed her nature when she met the baby. πŸ™‚

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