Who Says Dogs And Cats Don't Get Along?

Story Of Precious And Kitty

It was a very cold and dark night in November when we found Kitty. We went to our bank to withdraw some cash at the Teller Machine, and while Jim was getting the cash out, I kept hearing a kitten crying. We decide to try and find the kitten, as our bank is on a very busy four lane parkway, which would mean certain death for the kitten should she cross it. Not only that, but it was bitter cold, and we were concerned that the kitten would not survive the cold. We finally found her in a ditch right next to the parkway. Question was, now that we found her, what would we do with the kitten?

We had four dogs at home. Two large dogs and two small dogs. How would we keep her safe from the dogs? We decided to try and give her away before we got home. Behind our home was a small trailer park. Maybe someone would take her in. We knocked on all 10 trailers, and no one would take her. We were forced to take her home and hope for the best.
While I held her securely in my arms, Jim let the dogs in the room to see the kitten. They all were quite excited at first, but after awhile, the two big dogs and their mother Gypsy, got bored with the new addition and left the room. But not Precious. She was fascinated with the kitten and wanted to play with her. Precious was the runt of a litter of four, and was always wanting to play. Her brothers snubbed her and would not play with her, and her mother was never a dog that played much. I think she was hopeful that the kitten would play with her and be her pal, which in the long run, the kitten was that plus so much more. And so, the story and relationship of Kitty and Precious began.

We did not really name her Kitty, but just called her Kitty because we had no intentions of keeping her, and naming the kitten was to personal and might create attachments. We eventually did keep her, and the name Kitty just stuck. Precious and Kitty became very big buddies, as well as loving and loyal friends. They played constantly. You could hear them chasing each other on the hardwood floors in the hall. Hearing nails clicking and sliding on the floors was a constant sound. Not only did they play together, but they ate and slept together, and as time when on, Kitty started to nurse Precious. This was an amazing site to see, as this Kitten was way to big to be nursing even her mother. And Precious of course, did not have any milk, but it was just the comfort of the act I guess. When we found Kitty, she was so tiny and probably only about 3 or 4 weeks old, so I assume she was weaned way to early, and removed from her family way to soon, and needed the security of the act of nursing Precious. And with Precious, we had given away her two pups only a week before we found Kitty. Precious was a very nurturing and loving mother to her pups, and Kitty probably filled the need of her pups being gone. Kitty nursing Precious was a constant site in our home, and it was always so amazing to see. The entire time we had Kitty, which was a little over a year, she continued to nurse Precious.

When Kitty was about 11 months old, we had an unexpected surprise out of her. She had two baby kittens in our closet in our office. We did not even know she was pregnant. She was such a tiny cat herself, and never showed any signs to us that she was pregnant. She had a little gray kitten and a orange kitten. The orange kitten died the first day. Both of the kittens were premature and so tiny. The vet told us not to expect the other to survive as it was so small and premature. Still, we hoped for the best. But the Tiny kitten being premature was not the only problem. The biggest problem was with Kitty wanting and expecting Precious to help her in the role of taking care of the kitten. Kitty would constantly take the kitten from the warm box in the closet and put it on the floor in front of Precious. We would constantly have to pick the kitten back up and put the kitten back into the box. We lived in an old house which was very drafty and we were concerned about the kitten getting a cold, as well as being handled so much. Yet, Kitty did not understand, and kept bringing the kitten out to Precious. Of course, Precious could not help with the kitten, but was always so gentle and loving to the kitten, just as she had always been with Kitty. As it turned out, our fears became real and the kitten became sick with a cold. And there was nothing we could do to help her.

Jim was up with the kitten one day and realized it was fixing to die as it could hardly breath due to her cold. Kitty did not seem concerned. He brought the kitten to me while I lay sleeping so that I could hold her one more time, as I was so close to the kitten. She died while I held her, and I cried for days. She was the most beautiful kitten I had ever seen, and was so sweet and innocent.

We moved two months later from that drafty house, and it was nothing but chaos. And we could not find Kitty when we moved. After we moved, we went back several times to try and find her. We asked the neighbors if they had seen her, and gave them our phone number should they see her. No one ever called, and we never found Kitty. Besides being concerned about Kitty, we were also concerned about Precious and how she would handle it. And it was hard to tell, because the move, as with anyone, was hectic. But, in the long run, I think she did fine, as of this date, she is a very happy dog, and has a new playmate and buddy called Silas, a black Pitbull and lab dog we got as a very small puppy. And they are best friends now, and she treats him as if her own. Silas and Precious and their relationship, well, that is another story.

But to this day, we think about the time with Precious and Kitty and the wonderful smiles they both brought to us. And we are thankful that not only do we have the memories of them, but the pictures as well.