Remembering Mrs. Snuggles

Our sweet kitty, Mrs. Snuggles, was attacked by a dog yesterday and needed to be put down.  We miss her tremendously, and while it is easy to dwell on that sadness, today I just want to remember the happy times that we had with her.  So here they are--my top five Mrs. Snuggles memories:

5.  That time we learned that "Mr. Snuggles" was a "Mrs."

When we arrived in New Mexico, an adorable tabby cat was waiting for us at our doorstep.  It was skinny and hungry, but seemed very friendly, so we caved and started feeding it.  For some reason we were convinced that the cat was a boy, and our neighbors called "him" Snuggles.  Thus "Mr. Snuggles" became our cat and remained in a state of gender confusion until we took our first trip to the vet.  Turns out Mrs. Snuggles was a girl all along!

4.  That time we got Mrs. Snuggles fixed--again

Having discovered that our cat was a girl, we became concerned that she might grace us with a litter of kittens.  We were not ready for this life development, so we took her to the vet to get spayed.  They gave her the anesthesia, cut her open, and discovered: there was nothing there!  Some previous owner must have already gotten her fixed!  We still had to pay the vet fee, but gained peace of mind--although Mrs. Snuggles gave us the cold shoulder for the next few weeks.

3.  That time Mrs. Snuggles got super jealous

One day a cute gray kitten showed up in our neighborhood, abandoned and in need of some love.  We took it home with us while we searched for a family to adopt it permanently.  Mrs. Snuggles was very unimpressed with this kitten and gave us a lot of attitude until it disappeared.  No joke, this is the face she made whenever she saw us playing with it:

"I am not impressed"

2.  That time Mrs. Snuggles became a big sister

After the kitten incident, we weren't sure how Mrs. Snuggles would react to Baby Benji when we brought him home.  While she at first seemed leery of this squawking human kitten, she quickly warmed up to him and was always sweet and patient.  One day when Benji woke up crying from a nap, Mrs. Snuggles jumped into his crib and looked at him as if to say "how can I help?"  No matter how many times he tugged on her fur or pulled her tail, Mrs. Snuggles never hurt Benji and even came back for more of his "love".

1.  All those times Mrs. Snuggles brightened our day

Although she was supposed to be strictly an outdoor cat, Mrs. Snuggles managed to worm her way into our house--and our hearts.  She always made us laugh by snuggling up in the funniest places: an open guitar case, the baby stroller, the desk behind Jonathan's laptop...One of the most wonderful feelings was waking up from a Sunday afternoon nap and feeling the warm weight of Mrs. Snuggles at the foot of the bed. 

She was the sweetest cat imaginable and I am just glad we were entrusted with her care for the past four years. We love you, Snuggy, and will always remember you!