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Midnight
Midnight belonged to a friend and neighbor of mine, and in fact was
not my first choice. I'd wanted her brother, an adorable grey kitten
named "Smokey". However, he was promised to someone else and I was
unable to have him. So I settled for Midnight's twin sister, "Samone".
But she had what looked like bites in her ears, and this troubled
me. Thus, I gave her back and got my little Midnight. When I first
brought her home, she used to like to sleep on my chest. How I loved
cuddling her and nuzzling noses with her. |
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Midnight was a very cute kitten, and very clever as well. I actually
trained her to climb onto my stereo cabinet and open the door to
leave my room (if I put a sock over the doorknob so that she could
turn it). Learning about the chirruping noise that mother cats give
their kittens, I discovered how to call her that way and she
responded very well (especially since I'd learned how to mimic cats
from another cat we'd owned). You can imagine how much I annoyed my
mother whenever I did that. Midnight also was clever at learning new
combat methods to use on the neighborhood cats. Her favorite toy, a
stuffed cream-colored Stegosaurus we called "Spike", was an
excellent source of strategizing as well as entertainment. Midnight
soon developed her trademark "Karate Kitty Maneuver" from playing
with her toy - hugging it while fiercely kicking at it with her hind
legs. This method earned her tons of respect and fear from local
cats (and grief for my foot one time she attacked me when I wouldn't
play with her). Over time, I noticed that she was staying small in
size unlike some cats I'd seen, and we began calling her "Baby
Kitty" for it. Her first nickname of several. As she grew older,
even more interesting quirks arose. She was like a miniature
panther, and often showed that to the world whenever she climbed
into our nextdoor neighbor's tree and sharpened her claws on a
branch. How I regret never taking a picture of her looking so
ferocious - often horsing around and wrapping her paws (and claws)
around the branch if I drew near (I think she was showing off her
feline pride). And then there was the times that she hid in the
shadows of our fence in the front yard.....waiting for an
unsuspecting victim to pounce on their ankles when they walked past.
This practice, and the fact that she's a Black Tabby with stripes
that only appear in direct sunlight, earned her the second nickname
that she came to recognize and enjoy hearing - "Shadow Tiger" (but
having profound love of Japan, I called her that in Japanese: "Kage
Tora"; often adding the word "Chibi", which means "Little", to it).
It seemed as if she knew the meaning behind that name, for she
always seemed to be a bit more show-offy whenever she heard it. She
also responded warmly to being called "Chibi Kuroneko"
(Little Black Cat), which quickly became the number 1 nickname to
call her (even when calling for her at the door; makes me wonder
what the neighbors thought). And then there was the most remarkable
quirks of all: near-doglike behaviour. Yeah, she liked to fetch, as
long as it was something she could sink her claws or teeth into
(especially her beloved "Spike"). She also loved to follow me and my
dad whenever we walked to the grocery store (which was 10 blocks
away), like she was our little silent bodyguard. She never went all
the way, but always waited on this one person's front steps until we
came back that way. It was hilarious to see her running up to greet
us, because she often meowed while running and it sounded really
comical. That earned her the amusing nickname my dad used to call
her - "Squeak Toy". And just like dogs can learn things well, I was
able to train her to do some pretty cool things (well, cool to me
anyway). First, I got her to come whenever I rang some little jingle
bells. That was a lot of fun around Christmas time, but sadly it
only was used for two Christmas holidays since I soon lost the
bells. Then just a few years ago, I got her to the do the neatest
trick ever. I'm a huge fan of a comic series and cartoon about ninja
and their daily struggles in life, called "Naruto", and one of my
favorite combat moves used by some of the characters is one that
summons a valiant creature to aid them in battle. So I managed to
train Midnight to come running up to me if ever I shouted out the
words used to summon a ninja's ally! You can imagine how fun it was
to show her little stunt off to folks.
But I feel so sad that I never had the chance to show her off to my
friends who're Naruto fans.....bummer. All-in-all, Midnight was a
highly unique cat and my best friend for 12 awesome years. I dearly
miss her, as does everyone else in my family who came to love her
many quirks and charms...
In parting I'll say something special in Japanese: "Sayonara, chibi
kuroneko... sayonara, otomodachi... ai-shiteiru zutto..." (Farewell,
little black cat... farewell, dear friend... I love you forever...)
A fitting farewell for the coolest cat I ever had.....my dear little
Midnight.....
~Katherine Rene'e
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